However, the main growth in numbers is derived from the influx of new recruits. In the last year e.surv and a number of other national firms took a bold step in investing heavily in graduate recruitment programmes to bring fresh blood into the profession.
This began in a small way but has grown significantly within the last year and most firms have plans to sustain their programmes in 2015 and beyond.
The majority of these recruits are building surveying graduates, with a smaller number being drawn from other surveying/engineering disciplines or from a work experience route.
Recruits are put through an intensive training programme of work based mentoring, supplemented by formal assignments, workshops and seminars. For a typical graduate this takes 12 months, or less for those with existing work experience that the RICS assess as being relevant.
Trainees are initially put forward for assessment as Associate Members of the RICS (AssocRICS), with the option of progressing to full MRICS status at a later date. The advantage of this qualification is that it is precisely focussed on the skills and knowledge required for a surveyor undertaking mortgage valuations and buyer surveys.
The traditional APC route to MRICS qualification requires candidates to demonstrate experience across a much wider range of fields that for most residential surveyors will not then be employed in their future careers.
Candidates are then assessed by the RICS on the basis of written submissions demonstrating their knowledge and personal experience across a number of competencies together with a detailed case study.
By the time of qualification, these surveyors have 12 months intensive work experience behind them, spent with experienced surveyors, learning the practical aspects of the work undertaken by a residential surveyor.
There is a catch, whilst the majority of lenders are comfortable with this qualification, a minority have not given their blessing to the AssocRICS surveyors working on their cases. This limits the impact this new capacity can have and the hope would be that by careful dialogue, the whole market will quickly reach a point of comfort, for the benefit of all.
Richard Sexton is director of business development at e.surv
