Investing in our future talent

The built environment is evolving rapidly, and so are the skills and talent required to drive the industry forward.

We’re passionate about helping future leaders find their way and be prepared for all that’s to come next.

It’s because we know, by nurturing young minds and providing them with the skills, knowledge, and opportunities they need to be successful now, we pave the way for innovation and progress – for stronger futures and big impact ahead.

We actively evolve our internal programs accordingly, building them to respond to the challenges and opportunities current evolutions represent and aligning these focus areas to critical pieces of our own growth ambitions.

How?

By investing both time and resources into developing all levels of future talent: graduates, apprentices, and placement students.

This looks like:

• Welcoming young people from every background into our sectors.
• Building future recruitment and training and development processes that can adapt to support the needs of the next generation.
• Regularly reviewing our recruit and retention programs, compensation structures, and overall employee experience to be sure we are set up to attract and retain the best, most diverse talent pool possible.
• Getting out in our communities – taking part in career days, volunteer opportunities and powerful industry partnerships built to engage, connect, inspire, and motivate.

Attracting a wider talent pool

To tackle a structural industry-wide skills gap, Avison Young is focused on a long- term approach to ensure the right leaders and professionals are in place today, and for the future. Our school and college outreach focus is centred on helping young people better understand career opportunities and pathways into the commercial real estate sector, and prepare them broadly for the world of work.

Here are just a few examples of this powerful approach in action – our teams connecting with students in schools and other educational bodies around the world.

Canada: SFU students connect with Avison Young professionals, CREW in Vancouver

Avison Young’s downtown Vancouver office, in partnership with the CREW Vancouver Education Outreach Committee, hosted students of the SFU Beedie Urban Development program for a workplace tour and presentation.

This event helped the students gain a deeper understanding of the various facets of commercial real estate and connect with Avison Young's industry professionals.

Other Canadian intiatives

• We have connected with universities and colleges that specifically focus on real estate management programs, attending their free open houses, career fairs, and posting on university websites.
• We chaired the 2023 National Appraisal Conference, and through that work we helped connect Avison Young, CREW and AIC student members for a meet- and-greet bringing awareness to the appraisal profession.
• Our Toronto HQ recruitment team hosted the 10th annual Expand Your Empire event, hosting more than 80 university students across Ontario and multiple industry guest hosts including some of our very own Avison Young leaders and featuring Principal and President, Canada Mark Fieder as the opening keynote speaker for a case competition.
• Team members regularly serve as guest lecturers at UBC Sauder School of Business’ Real Estate Investment class. We have addressed three sections of this class with groups of two agents attending each section and providing various viewpoints on the subject (landlord, tenant, industrial, office, and retail).

U.S.: Chicago interns gain hands-on experience

Every summer, Avison Young invites interns from a variety of backgrounds to be a part of our everyday operations and to learn the ins-and-outs of commercial real estate. The purpose of this internship program is to give a comprehensive view of commercial real estate and all the services we have to offer, while creating opportunities for connection, growth, and hands-on experiences in the various fields of real estate and of course, providing support for our teams.

In June 2023, three interns from around the U.S. joined Chicago HQ team for a seven-week educational, rotational internship program. Selected from nearly 100 candidates, our interns came with impressive backgrounds and shared a passion for commercial real estate.

In just their first few weeks, interns Caleb, Aly, and Olivia were able to attend pitches, utilize CoStar, listen in on client calls, shake hands with industry leads, create market surveys, tour buildings, attend a leasing event, take part in marketing meetings, sanitize HubSpot data and create a rebrand campaign. They also attended our Annual General Meeting, went on a tour of Merchandise Mart (the largest commercial floorplate in the country) and gained perspectives from some of our team leads and brokers.

Other U.S. initiatives:

• In the U.S. we use the Handshake platform to broaden our reach and connect with education institutes across the country to advertise roles to college and university students.

U.K.: Bilton School students learn about career possibilities with Avison Young and Prologis

At Avison Young, we are excited to share our own knowledge and expertise whenever we can to help improve the real estate industry and unlock opportunities for others to enter the sector.

In May 2023, a team of five colleagues were inspired to do just that. We joined forces with one of our wonderful clients, Prologis U.K., to introduce the real estate industry to Year 9 school children from Bilton School in Rugby (U.K.). The session was facilitated by Jake Pygall, a Director in our Leeds office, and was aimed at driving change within the industry through diversifying the future talent pool.

The event showcased the alternative routes into the U.K. real estate industry, beyond a traditional university graduate pathway. These include work placements and apprenticeships, with learning funded by the employer and a salary being paid, which can be particularly attractive to young people who are concerned about the financial burden of a full-time degree.

During the day, the students were also given an insight into the many roles within the commercial real estate industry including industrial and logistics, planning, building surveying, rating, property management and retail by industry professionals who specialized in these areas, and given the opportunity to ask questions.

The students were also given a tour of the Prologis site (which is one of the largest warehouse developments in the U.K.).

“It’s time for Avison Young to lead the way, making a real, long-term change in the property sector”, says organizer Jake Pygall. “It was fantastic to engage with the students, talk to them about the variety of roles available in the sector and get them excited about the future.”

Jake adds: “A person’s socioeconomic background has a lasting impact on their career. By taking steps to boost social mobility through school engagement and improving accessibility, the property industry can unlock opportunities for all.”

• Colleagues from Scotland launched a new secondary school student and teacher engagement program. They also hosted several insight days where students had the opportunity to shadow Avison Young colleagues and benefit from valuable insights into careers within the industry. As a direct result of this, we identified several prospective students who joined us as apprentices in September 2023.
• Avison Young U.K.’s Liverpool office continues to support Elevate EBP, a non-profit organization acting as a catalyst between local schools, colleges, and businesses, helping to prepare the workforce of tomorrow through careers workshops, CV clinics, and mock interviews. They also sponsor Placed Academy, which champions youth voice through its award-winning program, which focuses on providing opportunities for 14–18-year-olds to engage with the built environment.
• Colleagues from Avison Young U.K.’s Birmingham office supported their client Derby City Council’s Enterprise for Education (E4E) initiative, helping to inspire young people and get them ready for work. They delivered mock interview training at Derby Cathedral School and Allestree Woodlands School.
• Avison Young U.K.’s land and development and finance teams hosted a careers day at New City College, London, in collaboration with their client Redbridge Council. This was a great opportunity to help students understand more about the real estate industry and career options, including our placements, apprenticeships, and graduate scheme. Our staff also delivered soft skill workshops to help students succeed in job applications and interviews.
• In the U.K., we now support students from non-real estate backgrounds into the industry through apprenticeship masters’ routes. We have partnered with GTI/Target connect to widen our university outreach to more than 100 universities, promoting our graduate scheme and vacancies to a more diverse talent pool.