A shortage of skilled staff is driving up salaries of landscape architects in the Middle East region, according to a survey by a recruitment company.
The average salary for a UAE-based landscape architect with between two to five years experience is US$60,000-US$72,000 (AED 216,000-264,000) a year, according to data from international recruitment agency Macdonald & Company.
This compares to an average annual salary of between US$50,000-US$64,000 for a similarly experienced landscape architect in the UK, and to between US$52,000-US$72,000 for a landscape architect in Australia, according to statistics supplied to Commercial Outdoor Design by the company.
For senior level staff, the gap is higher still. A senior landscape architect with five years plus can expect to earn US$72,000-US$98,000 per year in the UAE, in comparison to annual salaries of between US$64,00-US$80,000 in the UK, and US$72,000-US$90,000 in Australia, according to the figures.
“We have noticed a difference particularly over the past six months where some of the larger consultancies over here are paying higher salaries and packages to attract people,” Guy Source, associate at Macdonald & Company, commented to COD.
The different cost of living in another country means it isn’t always beneficial to move, however, he added.
The demand for qualified landscape architects in the GCC region has shot up over the past few years as the number of outdoor design projects increases, not only in number but also in size, with many large scale projects requiring firms to dedicate large numbers of staff to one specific project.
Landscape architects with experience on large-scale projects are particularly in demand, Source added.
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