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The decade-long building boom’s effects on the construction workforce have been well chronicled, but effects also have reached elsewhere. Architecture firms are dealing with shortages of designers.

鈥�(It’s) definitely an applicants’ market,鈥� said Alan Osborne, vice president at Hennebery Eddy Architects in Portland.

The employment pool is suffering from a dearth of midcareer and, to a lesser extent, senior architects, hiring managers said. That’s an echo of the Great Recession that began in 2007 and drove workers away from the industry.

鈥淏asically, there was a whole generation of architecture students who never started,鈥� said Jon McGrew, a Hennebery Eddy associate principal.

Hennebery Eddy had a senior project architect position open for so long that the firm took advantage of a long-established program in Portland to borrow an architect from another firm. In this case, Bora Architects loaned a senior project architect to Hennebery Eddy for two months.

鈥淵ou just can’t get enough people at that level,鈥� Osborne said. 鈥淭hey’re very skilled at this point in their career, and there’s not enough of them to go around.鈥�

Hennebery Eddy has hired more than a dozen architects in the past year, Osborne said.

Like others, Otak Inc. is struggling to find experienced architects.

鈥淩ight now we’ve been recruiting for more senior level, and I’m seeing more difficulty, obviously,鈥� said Carol Forsberg, Otak’s talent acquisition partner.

TVA Architects is also looking for midcareer architects who can lead projects.

鈥淭here’s really just nobody in that 10- to 15-year (experience) range,鈥� said Mandy Butler, a TVA principal who leads recruitment efforts for the 40-person firm.

TVA hires a new graduate only once every three to four years.

鈥淭here’s no shortage of brand-new graduates, and we get a tremendous number of applications from recent graduates,鈥� Butler said.

Portland is a desirable market for architects, and there’s a substantial number willing to relocate from out of state, hiring managers said. As long as the project pipeline remains robust, firms will be hiring.

鈥淲hat I’ve seen is a lot of people coming from outside this market,鈥� including Boston and Seattle, Butler said. 鈥淭hey’re high quality, but sometimes the salary ask is out of alignment with where our market is at.鈥�

The dearth of midcareer architects has pinched both sides of the divide, with younger architects playing more senior roles than usual, and older architects mentoring younger ones to accelerate their development, managers said.

Entry-level architects at major firms often do much of the actual design work. That fact and their more affordable starting salaries make them attractive to architectural firms.

鈥淲e do see quite a few firms recruiting,鈥� said Karen O’Donnell Stein, spokeswoman for the Portland State University School of Architecture. The school expects to graduate approximately 44 undergraduate students and 27 graduate students in 2020.

鈥淥ur students are definitely in demand by architecture and design firms in the Portland area and beyond,鈥� she added in an email. 鈥淗iring personnel at firms frequently reach out to us when they have design jobs to fill, and our students have many opportunities to connect with professionals who participate in final reviews and other events.鈥�

The University of Oregon holds a popular recruitment fair for architecture students and professional firms to meet. This year’s fair, on Feb. 20, has 41 firms signed up to visit with students in Eugene.

鈥淲e’ve been waiting for this strong, positive job market to end, and it hasn’t,鈥� said Nancy Cheng, department head of the UO School of Architecture. 鈥淭he outlook is very strong.鈥�

Still, many firms are finding there are plenty of young architects looking for jobs.

鈥淎s far as entry level, I tend to see a lot of applicants,鈥� Forsberg said.

Salaries for entry-level architects have increased, Osborne said.

鈥淭hey’re on a steady climb, and that benefits us all,鈥� he said.

SERA Architects has offices in Portland and Oakland, California. Both may soon present employment opportunities, said Valerie Williams-Hurwitz, director of human resources.

鈥淲e’re stable,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e expect to grow some in both offices.鈥�

However, SERA respects the collegial atmosphere of the local design community.

鈥淚n Portland in particular we sort of have a gentlemen’s or gentlewomen’s agreement that we generally don’t poach from other firms,鈥� Williams-Hurwitz said.

That said, SERA conducts open searches, and sometimes they result in an architect from another local firm being hired, she said.

Portland has the 10th-highest concentration of architects in the United States, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among large cities, only Denver, Seattle and San Francisco have a higher concentration of architects. In 2018, the Portland-Hillsboro-Vancouver metro area employed 1,760 architects, at an average annual wage of $85,420.

Architecture firms are also beefing up their internship programs to lure young architects. SERA is working to put together a yearlong internship, which could provide participants experience in several different disciplines, Williams-Hurwitz said.

Williams-Hurwitz and other SERA representatives last week attended a career fair at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She said students who expect to graduate this spring are eager to land a position, but don’t seem to be lacking offers.

鈥淲e don’t usually have to offer beyond what we consider the market pay, but if we have to do other creative things, like a lot of architecture firms 鈥� whether it’s a signing bonus or relocation 鈥� we can do those things depending on the circumstances,鈥� Williams-Hurwitz said.

Hennebery Eddy has also worked to strengthen its internship program, Osborne said. The firm recently hired a former intern 鈥� a Montana State University student who graduated in December.

鈥淥ur student intern program is more important than it’s ever been, so we work hard to get in top architects,鈥� Osborne said.