Sarah Hartley-Kane ⚡’s Post

☕️Brew With A View – Episode 6 🎥💡 The Top 3 benefits of hiring contractors! Contracting isn’t just great for candidates as you saw last week but it’s a smart solution for clients too. Especially in today’s market where agility, expertise, and speed are everything. Benefits include: ✅ Specialised expertise ✅ Preventing team burnout during peak periods, leave cover or secondments ✅ Cost flexibility as you only pay for what you need, with fewer overheads ✅ Fresh perspectives and ideas If you’re planning projects or need leave cover, please reach out we’d love to help! AccountAbility Gina Morley #Accounting #Sydney #Contracting #Hiring #BrewWithAView

Here’s a comparison between Quantity Engineer (often “Quantity Surveyor / Cost Engineer”) and Junior Planning Engineer: roles, pros/cons, pay trends, and what might be better depending on your goals. I’ll also suggest a social media-style “trend post” with hashtags. If you tell me your country (or region), I can give more local pay figures. Roles & Responsibilities: What’s Different Role Main Focus / Tasks Skills Required Career Path Quantity Engineer / Quantity Surveyor / Cost Engineer Estimating costs, controlling budgets, cost planning, assessing material quantities, bid evaluations, contract claims, cost reports Strong accounting / cost management skills, contracts, working with drawings & bills of quantity, negotiation You can rise to Senior QS, Cost Manager, Commercial Manager Junior Planning Engineer Project scheduling, creating timelines (Gantt charts, CPM, PERT), tracking progress vs plan, resource allocation, coordinating with disciplines Knowledge of scheduling software (e.g. Primavera, MS Project), understanding of project workflows, time management You can grow into Planning Engineer, Senior Planner, Project Controls Manager So the difference is: Quantity Engineering is more about money, costs, contracts. Planning is about time, sequence, execution, tracking. If your strength is in numbers, contracts, cost control, Quantity Engineering might suit you. If you like structure, timelines, coordinating many tasks, planning is better. Which Pays More? Highest vs Lowest, Trends Globally / U.S. context (for reference) A Junior Planning Engineer in the U.S. averages around USD $71,799/year (~$34.52/hr) according to ZipRecruiter data. (ZipRecruiter) A Planning Engineer more broadly earns about USD $100,259/year (~$48.20/hr) per ZipRecruiter. (ZipRecruiter) A Quantity Surveyor / Quantity Engineer’s salary in the U.S. averages ~ USD $97,684/year (base) according to PayScale. (Payscale) Others report quantity surveyor salaries more modest: entry level ~ USD $44,000, up to ~$114,000. (Zippia) So in many cases, a full Planning Engineer (not junior) and an experienced Quantity Engineer are in similar salary band. Which is higher often depends on location, sector (oil & gas, infrastructure, real estate), and the company. Lowest pay tends to be at entry / junior levels, or in less-developed markets or small firms. Highest pay is for senior roles, international / specialized projects, especially in Middle East, large construction, infrastructure, or oil & gas. Trends: Quantity surveyors saw an average increase in basic salaries in some markets: a report showed a 9.0% rise for quantity surveyor roles in one region. (arresourcing.com) For planning engineers, median pay has seen slight fluctuations: e.g. the median dropped slightly from ~$97,450 in 2023 to ~$96,600 in 2025 in one survey. (Salary.com) #ProjectManagement #EngineeringCareers #CostControl #PlanningEngineer #QuantitySurveying #ConstructionJobs #ProjectControls #CareerAdvice

Tip of the day: Most contractors think they need more jobs to make more money. Wrong. You need better profit from each job you already have. I see this mistake constantly. Contractors take on 6-7 jobs a week but still can't pay themselves. The problem isn't volume, it's tracking. When you don't know which jobs actually make money, you're just working harder, not smarter. Start tracking profit per job, not just total revenue. 💰 #ConstructionBusiness #ProfitFirst #ContractorTips #JobCosting #SmallBusiness

Why I would rather do contract work as an independent contractor who owns my own contracting company. I can undercut any agency contractor and still be happy. Contractors vs. Employees: Let’s Cut Through the Numbers 🔍 Many assume contractors cost less than employees — but the real picture is more complex. Here’s the reality in 2025: 👉 Contractor base pay is typically 1.4 to 1.7 times higher than an employee’s base pay for comparable roles. 👉 Staffing agencies charge a markup of 40-75%, sometimes even higher, on top of that already higher contractor base pay. 👉 Employee overhead (benefits, taxes, office space, supplies, and perks) generally runs 25-40% of base salary. Let’s do the math with realistic numbers: Base Pay: Employee: $100 Contractor: $150 Overhead: Employee: 30% or $30 Agency Markup: 60% or $90 Total Cost: Employee: $130 Contractor: $240 This means contractor labor via staffing agencies on average cost nearly double the fully loaded cost of an employee. This is not just due to markup, but the higher base rate and agency fees. The takeaway? Contractors provide flexibility and specialized skills, but hiring decisions must factor in the full financial picture beyond just headline hourly rates. My direct bill rate is $160/hour (no agency markup), which undercuts most agencies by 33%. I am president of Igloo Ventures Inc and I invite you to consider what is it you are paying for with your current staffing agency? Value delivered to you? OR their marketing and profit? We all want to profit, but not all of us are inclined to fritter your money away. #HR #Recruitment #Contractors #Employees #Staffing #BusinessInsights #WorkforceManagement

What Is a Recovery Schedule? In large-scale and construction projects, delays are almost inevitable. However, how teams respond can make all the difference. This is where a Recovery Schedule comes into play. A recovery schedule is a revised project plan designed to bring a delayed project back on track by implementing strategic adjustments such as resequencing, adding resources, or optimizing work hours. Why it matters in EPC: Engineering, procurement, and construction phases are deeply interdependent. A delay in one phase can impact the entire project. Recovery schedules assist project teams in regaining control, meeting milestones, and satisfying client expectations. Techniques for Recovery: • Resequencing activities for better workflow • Adding manpower or equipment to critical tasks • Utilizing overtime or extra shifts Example: Original Finish: Day 120 → Recovery Finish: Day 115 Achieved through weekend shifts and resequencing non-critical tasks. Takeaway: Recovery schedules are not merely about catching up; they involve strategic adjustments to ensure timely and cost-effective project delivery.

Bad leadership drives away more employees than bad pay. I talk with hundreds of tradespeople every week, and a couple HVAC techs I spoke with recently really stood out. Both left solid companies — not because of the work, but because of the leadership. One left after new management came in from finance. No MEP experience. No clue how to manage tradespeople. All about numbers and profit, zero understanding of the skilled trades. Morale tanked, and good people left. Another tech was with his company six years. He told me he got thirty-cent raises each year. The final straw? A new manager — no HVAC background. I joked, “Let me guess… Enterprise Rent-A-Car?” He laughed. “Yeah, exactly.” The new guy was trying to “close” customers over the phone with the whole "if you buy today, I can give you this price" line. You can’t do that in HVAC. Customers need to see the value. This isn’t a used car lot. MEP contractors need to stop hiring leadership from outside the industry. Leadership affects everything — customers, the office, and everyone in the field. And when you see a résumé with some job hopping, don’t assume it’s a bad tech. Sometimes it’s just someone tired of thirty-cent raises and managers who don’t get it. 🔧 I’m Blake. I post about hiring, careers, and the skilled trades. 🔧 Raised in the trades — now I help contractors hire and tradespeople get hired. 🔧 Follow for more: Blake Howe #SkilledTrades #HVAC #Construction #Leadership #Hiring

Can you extend a contractor? Absolutely, and it happens more often than you think. Projects and transformations rarely finish right on time, stopgaps often need more coverage than planned, and unexpected hiring freezes can shift timelines. We asked Alex Cawkwell & James Jamieson to explain why contract extensions give businesses flexibility to retain valuable knowledge, keep projects moving, and stay within budget, even with a permanent hiring freeze. With the holiday period fast approaching, now’s the time to plan ahead. Many contractors will be looking for work over December and January, so if you’re considering extra support or thinking about how contracting could benefit your business, our contracting team would love to chat. Reach out through the link in the comments to make sure you’re set before the holiday rush! Kristan De Sousa (she/her) Alan Claire MRCSA Jo Krause Tiernan O'Brien Danielle Martinelli Aimee Walsh Emily O'Toole

Ever heard of an anti-poaching pay rise? No, me neither. On a recent call with an experienced Quantity Surveyor currently at a well known house builder in the North East, we discussed his salary expectations. Surprisingly, he mentioned that his company had recently given him a 20% pay rise, completely unprompted. When he asked why, they explained it was to deter recruiters and hiring managers, effectively pricing him out of a move. Either this is a sign that the market is bouncing back, or it’s gone completely off the rails. But one thing’s for sure: this was a first for me 🤦♂️

Finding skilled workers is already tough, and by 2026, it’s going to get even tougher. The construction labor shortage is changing how contractors plan, bid, and staff their projects—and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. ⬇️ Swipe through to see: 🔹 The scope of the shortage 🔹 How it’s driving up costs 🔹 What contractors can do to attract and retain talent From rising wages and project delays to new ways of hiring and training, every slide shows what the data is telling us—and what you can do about it. Learn more about how to protect your bids and strengthen your workforce for 2026 and beyond: https://bit.ly/4o93TkB #constructionstartshere #construction #contractors #bidding #workforce

Long-term #ITprojects in are often a large undertaking and must be staffed appropriately to ensure success. The best way to do so is by #hiring a balance of contract workers and full-time employees. Dive deeper into the different considerations companies should think about before and during the #hiringprocess below. #ITStaffing #StaffingConsiderations #ITHiring