The UK & South Africa are very different countries. The cost of living in the UK is double what it is in South Africa. In regards to square mileage, South Africa is 5 times larger than the UK. As a Quantity Surveying Channel, we wanted to see if there were differences relating to our profession also.
In this article we will be answering the following questions;
· What are the progressional quantity surveying job titles in the UK & South Africa?
· What is the average salary at each stage?
· How many Quantity Surveyors work in the UK & South Africa?
· What is the male/female split within this sector?
· What is the average age of a QS?
· How many hours on average will a QS work in both countries?
· What chartership options are available for Quantity Surveyors in the UK & South Africa?
· What are the dominant contract types within each country?
What are the quantity surveying job titles in the UK & South Africa?
In the UK, the usual route is;
Apprentice or Trainee QS,
Graduate or Assistant QS.
Quantity Surveyor,
Senior QS,
Managing QS,
Commercial Manager.
In South Africa, the route is;
Student QS,
Graduate or Intern QS,
Junior QS,
Intermediate Quantity Surveyor,
Senior QS,
Commercial Manager.
What is the average salary at each stage?
Based on information from Glassdoor, a website where employees anonymously submit their salaries, in the UK an;
Apprentice or Trainee salary is £17,500 or R377,000,
Assistant or Graduate salary is £27,500 or R592,000,
Quantity Surveyor salary is £39,000 or R840,000,
Senior QS salary is £54,000 or R1,160,000,
Managing QS salary £65,500 or R1,400,000,
Commercial Manager salary is £71,000 or R1,500,000.
Using Pascale which is the South African equivalent of Glassdoor a;
Student QS salary is R96 000 or £4,487.74,
Intern or Graduate QS salary is R175,000 or £8,180.77,
Junior QS salary is R294,000 or £13,743.70
Intermediate QS salary is R329,414 or £15,399.21
Senior QS salary is R648,268 or £30,300
Commercial Manager salary is R900,256 or £42,000
How many QS’s work in their respective country?
There’s are a total of 47,135 quantity surveyors working in the UK according to statista.com
There are approximately 4539 Quantity Surveyors in South Africa. This number ONLY accounts for Registered professionals and candidates
What is the Male:Female QS Ratio?
In the UK, 42,214 quantity surveyors are men and 4,921 quantity surveyors are female. This results in a split of 89.5% men and 10.5% female.
In South Africa, the percentage split is 89.3% for male and 10.7% for women, according to Statsa.gov.za.
How many hours on average will a QS work in both countries?
According to career smart, the average working hours for a quantity surveyor in the UK is 36 hours. Although from personal experience, I would say its between 40 to 45 hours a week.
The Average Working Hours in South Africa is about45 hours a week according activepayroll.com
What chartership options are available for a QS?
The main chartership option for a quantity surveyor in the UK is Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or RICs. Recently the Chartered Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors or CICES has become more relevant.
South Africa has a number of Chartership / Professional Registration routes which Quantity Surveyors can take , the two most prominent ones are the SACQSP & the RICS.
What is the dominant contract type?
In the UK we mainly use two contract types; JCT & NEC with JCT being the most used at present. ACA and CIOB are also used but at much less frequency.
4 Types of contracts are used in South Africa. They are; JBCC, FIDIC, GCC AND NEC. Different contracts are used depending on the type of project you are working on. The most commonly used one is the JBCC.
We hope this has given you an insight into the similarities and differences between quantity surveying in the UK & South Africa but if you feel you can add to this list, we’d love to see your comments below.
Watch our video on Quantity Surveying: The Differences Between The UK & South Africa here:
How we can help
Here at Metroun we can offer you commercial support when working on a construction project. We can tailor the support to suit your needs. Want to be commercial independent? We can provide industry ready templates. Require a full-time QS? We can provide you with highly skilled Quantity Surveyors to manage the commercial aspect on your projects. Need some extra support? We can provide you with guidance and support as and when you need.
