A new jobs report for the construction and property sectors indicates that expertise with BIM is a major bonus for employers on the hunt for new architects.

The Hays Quarterly Report for Construction and Property for the first quarter of 2015 covers a range of professions related to the built environment on a state-by-state basis, including architects, urban designers and interior designers.

According to the report, the rapid spread of BIM within the design and construction industries has heightened the lustre of architects who are proficient in use of the technology.

Architects familiar with Revit and BIM software are in high demand, especially if they already possess experience with commercial and multi-residential projects.

The increasing importance of software expertise in the design and construction sectors is also reflected by strong demand for ArchiCAD professionals.

Smaller businesses specializing in residential projects are particularly eager to hire candidates who possess at least a few years of experience with ArchiCAD for the creation of single build documentation and design.

The latest batch of jobs data from Hays follows the release of a set of industry guidelines toward the end of last year by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in order to address the growing importance of BIM for design and construction professionals.

According the first edition of the RICS International BIM Implementation Guide, as a major advance upon preceding software tools such as CAD, BIM has the potential to induce a fundamental paradigm shift in the way that architecture and design are practiced by professionals.

“While CAD allowed the architect and designer to use computers for the drafting and production of design documents, BIM fundamentally impacts the way design data is generated, shared and integrated,” said the guide. “Some term this impact as an ‘epochal’ transformation of the design practice.”

The RICS guide also points to BIM expertise as providing a potential source of added remuneration for professional architects and designers.

“The changes caused by BIM adoption require rethinking of the fee schedule for the architect and designer,” said the guide. “Perhaps the traditional timelines for fee payment and related commercial aspects need to be revised.

“The architect and designer can also offer additional new services as BIM adoption matures in their organization.”

The Hays report also points to other factors that will improve the employment prospects for architects in 2015, including full-cycle project experience, and experience with large multi-residential projects or multi-unit residential projects.

Architects with over five years of experience and the ability to handle projects through the entire process of development, from conception to construction, will prove popular amongst employers.

Architects who have experience with large-scale multi-residential projects will also be in high demand, given the popularity of such undertakings in the sunny coastal cities of Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Sydney in particular will see strong demand for project architects capable of running multi-unit residential projects, which are currently flourishing in the city.