Working in India

Steve Thomas of Maxim Recruitment regards India as perhaps the most significant emerging market: “We’re seeing companies that have done well in Dubai expanding into India. It’s the next obvious place to go and indeed there’s a high crossover of staff between India and Dubai and vice versa. There has been massive growth in retail markets – shopping malls etc – but also our client, many of biggest civil engineering companies, are expanding into India. We’re being asked to fill a lot of set-up rolls. Infrastructure in particular is so basic in India that there is a lot to improve. Brit management skills in particular in demand to keep projects on program.”

Where?

EXCON construction equipment trade fair in Bangalore

Key cities for construction projects include Mumbai, Hyderabad where Arup is already involved with the New Hyderabad International Airport and Delhi – where it is hoped that the development of the Yamuna river front might one day provide the city with an urban waterfront to rival Paris or London. India’s burgeoning IT related industries continue to expand the country’s many new technology parks – in particular around Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad (home of the Microsoft Campus), Bangalore (ITPL) and Delhi.

Outside the cities there are major projects taking shape including a 4-mw Gosaba tidal power project in West Bengal, the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link road in Powai, and the promised state-of-the-art integrated terminal building for Tiruchirapalli International Airport in Tamil Nadu.

What to expect

Health and safety standards in India may shock western workers

According to Steve Thomas at Maxim, workers familiar with working practices in Dubai will find a similar atmosphere in India.

Of particular note is India’s health and safety record, which while improving still leaves much to be desired in Western terms. Until very recently it was still the norm to use bamboo scaffolding for example.

While no one approached for this article was willing to go on record it is clear that incidences of corruption – for the most part localised and small scale – while improving are still a matter for concern.

Salary expectations

Project managers, construction managers, commercial managers and senior quantity surveyors have been in particular demand of late.

Recent awards to operations managers with between 15-20 years experience have been in the region of £70,000-100,000.

A quantity surveyor with perhaps 5-7 years experience might expect to earn between £35,000 and £45,000.

Companies currently working in India include: Arup, Mott MacDonald, Atkins, Scott Wilson, Currie & Brown, Davis Langdon.