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As site manager Karl Butler says: "A good site manager can earn a lot more working as a contractor than working in a permanent position. A permanent site manager working in London could earn £35,000 a year whereas a temp could get up to £200 a day, or £45,000-£50,000 a year."

Apart from the salary differences, the training backgrounds that companies prefer differ significantly for permanent and contract site managers.

For contract roles, companies typically request applicants who have carpentry or brick laying backgrounds as they have worked their way up and so know the job inside out.

As Matt Tomlin from Hays Montrose Cambridge says: "Clients want someone who can do the job, not write a book about it."

Different strokes
However, companies with permanent vacancies prefer managers with HND, HNC or Construction Management degrees. They can be employed at a graduate level, given a smaller role under a site manager, and then moulded to the company style, as opposed to a manager with a trade background who already has site experience and their own methods of working.

So what is the role of the site manager? Reporting directly to the contracts or project manager, the site manager ensures the programme is running to schedule, confirms the correct specifications are maintained and that all paperwork is in order. He or she liaises daily with the sub contractors, contract manager, quantity surveyor and company buyer.

"I went to a site recently," says Adam Cole of Hays Montrose Luton, "and the site manager had two mobile phones ringing constantly at the same time as his office phone was ringing. He took all the calls and handled all the problems quickly and with a level head. A good site manager needs to be able to keep on top of things and handle many tasks at once."

However, the job is much more varied than people assume. The projects a site manager works on can be wide-ranging, from football grounds to listed buildings. Lynne is currently recruiting site managers for projects involving cleaning the stonework and brickwork of three royal seats - St James' Palace, Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle – along with the Royal Albert Hall and the Tower of London.

Experience matters
Companies with permanent vacancies value applicants who have experience built from a long-term position (often a minimum of five years' experience with the same company), but with higher rates attracting site managers to contract positions this long-term experience is rarely developed. So finding an applicant with a solid background and five years' experience with the same company is a rarity nowadays.

Of all the site management vacancies at Hays Montrose Bristol over the last two years, just 20% have been for permanent positions.

While most companies prefer permanent site managers, some are finding they have no option but to offer temporary roles, as they recognise that many good applicants have chosen to work freelance.

While not as acute as the quantity surveyor shortage, finding permanent applicants with the experience companies are seeking can be hard. This means the job prospects for applicants who have been at a company for five years or more are very strong.

As the market is applicant-lead, in-demand site managers can command higher salaries and benefits. With many attracted to temporary roles, finding good permanent applicants is challenging as companies are proactively looking after their quality site managers.

To hold onto their valued site managers, it is common for companies to give them one year to prove themselves, and then begin to increase their salary in increments and have regular salary reviews. Holidays generally increase to 25 days and benefits can include a car, family healthcare and performance-related bonuses for jobs competed ahead of - or on - schedule.

Many companies reward their site managers by offering them their prestigious projects or giving them the choice of projects to work on. They are also putting their site managers forward for awards and industry recognition.

Permanent pay days
However, permanent salaries are also on the rise. Permanent site managers are using the high rates paid to contract workers as leverage to negotiate a higher salary for themselves.

While a new graduate can expect £20k basic, the average then increases to £25-28k with three years' experience. By 30, a site manager can expect to be on £28k-32k plus benefits.

But some site managers exceed this figure with ease. Katie Talbot from Hays Montrose Ilford recently placed a 30 year-old site manager on a £40k basic, plus a car, a pension, healthcare and a £3k guaranteed bonus. The opportunities are out there.