Chartered surveyor (degree)

About the role

This occupation is found in the land, property and construction sectors. The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide professional advice relating to land, property, construction or infrastructure including design, building, procurement, value and management. Chartered Surveyors measure, value, manage and protect the world’s physical and natural assets to ensure their potential is maximised. They play an integral part in all transactions across land, property, construction and infrastructure and are responsible for entire projects and the lifecycle of buildings from overseeing planning, design and construction, through to occupation, sustainable usage, demolition and redevelopment. From city skyscrapers to sports stadiums, forests to festival sites, shopping centres to the homes we live in Chartered Surveyors are involved in them all.
Chartered Surveyors require a mix of high level technical skills, business skills, an understanding of people and communities, appreciation of the built and natural world and the ability to bring these diverse skills together. Chartered Surveyors solve problems, use leading edge technology and take account of a wide range of issues in order to provide their advice including legal and regulatory issues, finance, cost, sustainability, inclusivity and health and safety. Chartered Surveyors abide by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ Rules of Conduct and ethical principles because they hold positions of responsibility and make decisions that have significant financial implications and impact on the natural and built environment. The occupation is regulated by high standards of professionalism assuring clients and employers of the quality of service they will receive. Chartered Surveyors are responsible for autonomously managing their own work programs and time while maintaining their own personal development and contributing to that of others.

There are three distinct pathways:

Building Surveying: providing professional advice on buildings and construction, ranging from city office blocks and skyscrapers to home extensions. Undertaking detailed surveys of buildings identifying defects and advising on repair, maintenance and restoration options.

Quantity Surveying & Project Management: negotiating contracts and prices, assessing, evaluating and managing construction projects to ensure the best value for money and quality including life cycle costing, cost planning, procurement and tendering, contract administration and commercial management.

Property: valuing (including inspecting and measuring), managing, buying, selling, developing and leasing land and property (including minerals).

Entry requirements

Apprentices will be required to complete a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited BSc/BSc(Honours) or (where the apprentice already holds a Level 6 degree and subject to an assessment of prior learning) an RICS accredited Post Graduate Diploma or MSc. Apprentices without Level 2 English and Maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the end point assessment. For those with an education, health and care plan or a legacy statement, the apprenticeship English and Maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3 and British Sign Language qualifications are an alternative to an English qualification for those for whom this is their primary language. Whilst any entry requirements will be a matter for individual employers, typically an apprentice might be expected to have already achieved Level 3 qualifications e.g. A Levels or a Level 3 apprenticeship.

Entry requirements are ultimately set by each employer — treat these as the baseline, not the bar.