IRCs now submit comprehensive Skills Forecasts to the AISC every 3 years, with abridged annual updates submitted in the intervening 2 years.
Property Services Industry Reference Committee
Property Services
Overview
This page provides high level information and data on the Property Services industry which comprises five main industry sectors:
- Architectural, Surveying and Related Services
- Cleaning, Pest Control and Waste Management
- Property Operations and Real Estate
- Property Inspection and Servicing
- Security and Investigation.
The Property Services industry is composed of a diverse range of sectors involved in the design, operation, servicing and sale of commercial and non-commercial buildings.
IRC and skills forecasts
IRC and skills forecasts
Industry cluster snapshot
Industry cluster snapshot
Please note: any employment projections outlined below were calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics prior to COVID-19.
Employment and training snapshot
Employment levels for the various sectors of the Property Services industry have increased between 2000 and 2019. The highest employment levels during this period were in 2015 for Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services (around 315,100), and in 2018 for Property Operators and Real Estate Services (around 176,800) and Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Other Support Services (around 224,300). Growth is projected to occur in all the above industries between 2019 and 2024, with the strongest employment level increase projected to occur in the Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services industry (reaching 353,100 by 2024).
Program enrolments and completions declined in the Property Services Training Package between 2015 and 2018, from a peak in 2015 of 82,950 and 34,530 respectively. There were 69,830 program enrolments and 27,100 program completions in the Property Services Training Package in 2018. Subject-only enrolments grew over the same period, from 82,390 in 2015 to 142,380 in 2018. The largest numbers of enrolments in this training package in 2018 were at the certificate IV (36%) and certificate II (33%) levels.
Industry insights on skills needs
According to the Property Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast the top generic skills in demand for the Property Services industry as a whole are:
- Managerial / Leadership
- Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) (Foundation skills)
- Customer service / Marketing
- Financial
- Technology.
According to job vacancy data, the top generic skills in demand in the Property Services industry are:
- Communication skills
- Detail oriented
- Planning
- Organisational skills
- Building effective relationships.
In addition, the job vacancy data identifies the most in-demand occupations as: Real Estate Sales Agents, Civil Engineering Professionals, Other Engineering Professionals, Sales Representatives and Contract, Program and Project Administrators. The top employers for the sector span a number of industries and include AECOM Technology Corporation and Jacobs Associates, among other engineering services companies.
The Property Services IRC’s 2020 Skills Forecast identifies the major changes and opportunities for the Property Services industry as:
Digital management and delivery systems: the industry is using more digital management systems that bring workers in different sectors into common information management and reporting systems.
Technology: digital disruption and adaptation to new technologies across the built environment is influencing skills required to engage and utilise digital and robotic technologies.
Regulation: heightened regulatory requirements across the built environment is an expectation of clients.
Environment: the extent of environmental change and disasters is creating skill needs in flood and fire rectification and new challenges in the management of the built environment including hygiene skills and management.
Consumer (and client) demand: for sustainable, green, energy efficient, and digital technologies, and convergence across these demands.
The Property Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast identifies the following key drivers for change in the Property services industry:
- Social drivers including increasing urbanisation and clandestine laboratories
- Technological drivers including automation, drones and building information modelling (BIM)
- Economic drivers including growth in property services industry and consumer demands
- Environmental drivers including sustainability
- Educational drivers including convergence of industries leading to diverse skill needs
- Political drivers including compliance and regulation and the banking royal commission.
Many of these drivers for change identified for 2019 are also identified as challenges and opportunities for the Property Services industry. These major challenges and opportunities identified are consistent with those identified in the 2020 update.
The Property Services IRC’s 2017 Skills Forecast underscores the impact of technology on the Property Services industry, with those across the industry dealing with the effects of changing technological tools and a need for more digital literacy within the industry.
The industry is also increasingly feeling the effects of increased globalisation, and interest in Australian property by institutional buyers. In the real estate sales area, consumers have access to larger volumes of online property data and may bypass sales agents in favour of online channels.
For detailed skills needs analysis, see respective sector pages.
COVID-19 impact
COVID-19 impact
The impacts of COVID-19 on the Property Services industry have been significant, varying by sector within the cluster. Demand and opportunity for digital delivery has increased in response to COVID-19. All sectors have been spurred to implement technology solutions in order to maintain services, and essential status sought for workers where physical presence is still required.
Links and resources
Links and resources
Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.
Relevant research
Analysis of Australia's municipal recycling infrastructure capacity - Department of the Environment and Energy
Determining the future demand, supply and skills gap for surveying and geospatial professional [2018 2028] - BIS Oxford Economics
National waste policy: less waste, more resources - Australian Government
Property: hotspots of skills in demand – Hays
Property Services IRC’s 2017 Skills Forecast - Artibus Innovation
Property Services IRC’s 2018 Skills Forecast - Artibus Innovation
Property Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast - Artibus Innovation
Rental, hiring, and real estate: South Australia's industry priority qualifications 2018 - South Australia. Training and Skills Commission (TASC)
Industry associations and advisory bodies
Architects Accreditation Council of Australia
Association of Consultants in Access Australia
Australian Building Sustainability Association
Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association
Australian Graphic Design Association
Australian Institute of Architects
Australian Institute of Building Surveyors
Australian Security Industry Association
Building Designers Association of Australia
Building Service Contractors Association of Australia
Facilities Management Association of Australia
Fire Protection Association Australia
International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety
National Association of Building Designers
National Fire Industry Association
Real Estate Institute of Australia
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Australia
Security Providers Association of Australia
Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute
Swimming Pool and Spa Association of Australia
Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia
Regulatory bodies
ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
Board of Surveying and Spatial Information of New South Wales
Land Information System Tasmania
Land Victoria Spatial Information Infrastructure
Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme
Northern Territory Land Information Systems
NSW Environment Protection Agency
Queensland Building and Construction Commission
Queensland Spatial Information Council
Surveyors Board of South Australia
Surveyors Board of the Northern Territory
Surveyors Registration Board of Victoria
TAS Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment
Tasmanian Land Surveyors Accreditation Board
WA Pesticide Safety Section Environmental Health Directorate, Department of Health
Employee associations
Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union
Data sources and notes
Data sources and notes
Department of Employment 2020, Employment Projections, available from the Labour Market Information Portal
- ANZSIC 2 digit 67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services industry and 73 Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Other Support Services industry, and ANZSIC 3 digit Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services industry, employment projections to May 2024.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020, Employed persons by Industry group of main job (ANZSIC), Sex, State and Territory, November 1984 onwards, 6291.0.55.003 - EQ06, viewed 1 August 2020 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6291.0.55.003May%202020?OpenDocument
- Employed total by ANZSIC 2 digit 67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services industry and 73 Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Other Support Services industry, and ANZSIC 3 digit Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services industry, 2000 to 2020, May Quarter.
Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET students and courses from the following training packages or qualifications:
- Program Enrolments by CPP Property Services Training Package
- PRD Property Development and Management Training Package
- PRM Asset Maintenance Training Package
- PRS Asset Security Training Package.
Priority skills data has been extracted from the Property Services IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast.
Each IRC has prioritised and ranked the generic skills.
Job vacancy data have been extracted from Burning Glass Technologies 2019, Labor Insight Real-time Labor Market Information Tool, Burning Glass Technologies, Boston, viewed July 2019, https://www.burning-glass.com.
Data shown represent the most requested generic skills and occupations according to internet job postings in Australia between July 2016 and June 2019 filtered by ANZSIC and ANZSCO classification levels listed below.
- Generic skills / Occupations
- ANZSCO major groups excluding 8512 Food Trades Assistants
- 67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services
- 73 Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Other Support Services
- 7712 Investigation and Security Services
- 692 Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services
- 3234 Fire and Security Alarm Installation Services.
- Employers
- 6121 Real Estate Sales Agents
- 2332 Civil Engineering Professionals
- 2339 Other Engineering Professionals
- 6113 Sales Representatives
- 5111 Contract, Program and Project Administrators
- 67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services
- 73 Building Cleaning, Pest Control and Other Support Services
- 7712 Investigation and Security Services
- 692 Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services
- 3234 Fire and Security Alarm Installation Services
- Excluding 8512 Food Trades Assistants.
Updated: 23 Dec 2021