I have just started work as a trainee in an estate agent’s office. I wish to qualify as a chartered surveyor. Could you explain the various options open to me?
The reader refers to the designation “chartered surveyor” and it is assumed therefore that the question is directed towards membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. This is of course not the only professional body relating to surveying but, with more than 70,000 members, it is certainly the largest.
“To become a chartered surveyor you need to have a high standard of professional education and training,” says Alan Cox, the assistant secretary-general of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. At present, concern is being expressed because of the so-called “demographic time-bomb”. There seems to be some recognition that: “The profession is facing an imminent decline in the number of school leavers and it has to meet increasing competition for them” (Patrick Venning EG 8912 p 24). So it is perhaps an opportune moment to review the sometimes bewildering range of possibilities, where education is concerned, for those wishing to enter the profession.
The minimum entry standard is five GCE/GCSE passes including two A levels at grade E or above. Passes must include Maths and English Language and GCE/GCSE passes must be at grade C or above. The A level passes must include at least one “academic” subject — the RICS publishes a list of such subjects. It is also possible to enter with a BTEC Higher National Certificate (HNC) or Higher National Diploma (HND).
There is a wide range of full-time and part-time courses provided by a variety of institutions. The RICS publishes a list of academic institutions and the courses offered. Full-time courses in general practice are offered by over 20 polytechnics and universities in England, Scotland and Wales.
These will lead to degrees or diplomas in land economy, valuation and estate management, valuation surveying and land administration. All give complete exemption from the professional examinations of the RICS in general practice. Many institutions also offer degree and diploma courses in building surveying, housing, land agency, land surveying, planning and development and quantity surveying, again providing full exemption from the professional examinations appropriate to the divisions. These are all normally three-year courses.
Some of these institutions offer sandwich courses. These are four-year courses with three years of academic study combined with a year out on professional training. The year out would normally be counted as one of the years of professional training required for the Test of Professional Competence. Institutions offering sandwich courses include Paisley College of Technology, Sheffield, South Bank, Trent and Wales polytechnics.
Other modes of academic study include part-time, day-release and distance-taught courses. Although the full-time route is undoubtedly popular, there are still many who prefer to pick up professional experience while they study. This is by no means an easy route, but it does have the advantages of financial reward (gone are the days when you would have paid for the privilege of being articled to a professional office) as well as a more rapid career progression. Part-time courses normally involve attendance at college on a day-release basis, but many courses now also include block-release periods providing one or two weeks’ attendance on a full-time basis.
Part-time courses normally last for five years and will lead to a fully exempting degree or diploma, or, alternatively, to exemption from Part I of the RICS examinations. In the latter case it would then be necessary to prepare for the Part II and the Final examination, and many institutions provide courses designed specifically for this purpose.
The College of Estate Management in Reading offers a distance-taught diploma course. This would take approximately four years of home study using papers and materials provided by the college. As with full-time courses, the examinations and coursework give complete exemption from the RICS professional examinations.
Many polytechnics and technical colleges also offer BTEC HND courses which generally provide exemption from the Part I examinations. Attendance is normally on a two-year, full-time basis. Entry requirements normally require one A level pass or a suitable HNC. Institutions offering fully exempting degree or diploma courses will normally accept an HND qualification for entry, and in many cases HND holders will be accepted direct on to the second year of a fully exempting degree or diploma course.
Non-cognate graduates
The RICS will also accept holders of non-surveying degrees under the graduate entry scheme. This normally consists of a preliminary examination, which is similar to the institution’s Part II examination, followed by a final examination. North East London Polytechnic offers a part-time day-release course in land administration which provides full exemption from the general practice examinations, and the universities of Aberdeen, Cambridge and Reading offer two-year, full-time courses which are similarly fully exempting from the GP exams.
Institutions exams
Traditionally, entry to the profession was governed by the RICS professional examinations consisting of Parts I & II and Final. With the growth of fully exempting courses this has become a less popular mode of entry and in 1988 the RICS phased out the Part I examination. However, many colleges have authority to offer diploma courses to prepare candidates for entry at Part II level. It is intended that Part II will also be phased out in the near future.
Post-graduate courses
The need for further academic study is now widely recognised and a number of post-graduate courses are available on both a part-time and full-time basis, including Aberdeen’s Post-Graduate Diploma in Land Economy, North East London Polytechnic’s Diploma in Land Administration for Graduates and the University of Reading’s MPhil Degree in Land Management. Post-graduate courses are also available in many of the other divisions.
Training
Qualification as a chartered surveyor requires training as well as education and the main training vehicle is the Test of Professional Competence. This requires two years approved training and experience (three years for quantity surveyors), and one of these years must be obtained after the Final examination. During this time you are required to keep a diary, detailing training and experience, which is signed regularly by the supervisor, normally a senior member of the organisation in which you work. This ensures that a balanced range of experience is acquired over a number of areas of work. The diary is inspected by the RICS at the halfway stage and this ensures that if a candidate is falling short in any particular area this can be rectified. Those entering a professional organisation should ensure that they can be offered supervision which is recognised as appropriate by the RICS.
At the end of the experience period, candidates sit a practical test which is a simulation of a professional problem appropriate to the candidate’s division. In some instances there is also a professional interview and some of the specialist divisions require a professional report and a project or other tests. Only when all of these elements are successfully negotiated is the candidate entitled to the letters ARICS and the designation “chartered surveyor”.
CPD
Designation is not the end of education and training, because the RICS rightly believe that education is a continuing process. They have therefore instigated a requirement that all recently qualified surveyors (and there is a proposal to extend this to all members of the profession) should engage in continuing professional development (CPD). This will include attendance at courses and conferences and branch meetings where there is some professional content.
Revisions to the existing CPD regulations were made by the General Council of the RICS in February 1988. Among other changes it is intended to make CPD obligatory for all members from January 1 1991. At present, only associates elected on or after January 1 1981 are required to undergo CPD.
CPD is defined as “the systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skill and the development of personal qualities necessary for the execution of professional and technical duties throughout the practitioner’s working life”. It includes courses and meetings organised by the RICS, colleges, universities and polytechnics, discussion meetings on technical topics, structured private study, correspondence courses, research and authorship provided that these activities are related to the theory and practice of surveying, related technical areas or personal and business skills. Members are required to complete a minimum of 60 hours of continuing professional development in every three-year period.
Other professional bodies
The RICS are of course not the only professional body. The Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers contains four divisions; General Practice, Agricultural Practice, Fine Arts and Chattels, and Plant and Machinery. Entry to the profession is by examination and completion of the Professional Assessment programme, similar to the RICS TPC. Most recognised estate management degrees would give exemption from the written examinations and there are a variety of full- and part-time courses available.
The Society of Surveying Technicians was formed by the RICS in 1970. This provides a qualification for surveying technicians who are not professionally qualified. It is open to holders of appropriate BTEC, HNC and HND qualifications who are required to pass a Joint Test of Competence. It is possible in certain cases to progress to full membership of the RICS. Many members in general practice are negotiators in residential agency.
There are then two major routes to professional qualifications, either by way of full-time academic study or a combination of part-time study and full-time employment. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and the choice will depend on the needs and circumstances of each individual. It is possible that the expected future shortage of entrants into the profession may encourage major firms to offer sponsorship to students wishing to undertake full-time education. Those wishing to combine academic study with full-time employment might consider the Inland Revenue Valuation Office Cadet Valuer scheme. Cadet valuers are recruited by the Valuation Office with normal minimum entry qualifications and prepare for the College of Estate Management Diploma, leading ultimately to membership of the RICS or the ISVA.
Further Information
The College of Estate Management, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 2AW.
Civil Service Commission, Alencon Link, Basingstoke, Hants RG21 1JB.
The Society of Surveying Technicians, Drayton House, 30 Gordon Street, London WC1H OBH.
Education and Membership Department, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, 12 Great George Street, London SW1P 3AD.
The Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers, 3 Cadogan Gate, London SW1X OAS.
