Building control surveyor
Building control surveyors ensure that building regulations and other legislation are followed when houses, offices and other buildings are designed and constructed. These regulations cover areas such as public health, fire safety, energy conservation and building accessibility. They also check that property alterations, including extensions and conversions, meet regulations.
Building control surveyors use their professional skill and judgment to offer advice on acceptable solutions to meet the statutory requirements of regulations. On complex projects, they may be involved at the pre-application stage to offer advice on design and safety issues. After the work has started, they make site visits at various stages to ensure that the construction is being properly carried out.
Building control surveyors advise and make judgments on building proposals. Applications are normally paper-based forms but they may also be submitted via email. Generally they examine plans, drawings, specifications and other documents submitted for approval to ensure that they comply with building regulations, using practical guidance set out in the approved documents published by the Department for Communities and Local Government .
At this stage, the work may involve:
Building control surveyors can be employed by either local authorities or the private sector in England and Wales as licensed approved inspectors. They inspect the plans of the scheme to see that they demonstrate compliance with the building regulations and associated legislation.
Once the work begins, building control surveyors visit the site at different stages to ensure that the construction work is being properly carried out. At this stage, the work may involve:
The work also involves:
On more complex projects, the building control surveyor may be involved at the pre-application stage to advise applicants on design issues and suggest alternatives that may help to reduce the risk of delays and save costs. Building control surveyors in local government may also be involved in approving demolitions and carrying out surveys of potentially dangerous buildings.
Although this area of work is open to all graduates, a relevant degree/HND in the following subjects may increase your chances:
It is important that the degree is accredited and meets the academic requirements of a professional body. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Association of Building Engineers (ABE) are the two main professional bodies. There is also the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) for surveyors who specialise in architectural surveying.
Graduates with non-accredited or non-cognate degrees are required to undertake a conversion course to upgrade their academic qualifications, either by taking an approved higher degree or by completing modules of an approved first degree. Increasingly, this option is available by distance learning while on the job.
Diplomates can enter this area of work, with opportunities for further training whilst working. A top-up degree course is necessary for those who wish to become chartered surveyors or corporate members of the ABE; this can be undertaken on a part-time basis after entering employment.
Initial entry without a degree or HND is possible. Some enter this area of work after training and experience in one of the building trades, followed by part-time study for relevant qualifications.
More information on courses and qualifications can be found on the RICS and ABE websites.
Candidates will need to show evidence of the following:
A driving licence is usually required.
Pre-entry experience in a property or a surveying environment is desirable and is highly regarded by recruiters. This will be invaluable if your degree is not directly relevant. A work experience placement can also give a good understanding of the construction industry as a whole, what skills are required and help assess your suitability for the work.
Building control is frequently a second career entered by people with training and experience in another construction profession or in civil engineering.
At present there is a national shortage of qualified building control surveyors, which is likely to lead to a great number of opportunities in the future. Other property and surveying professions are more competitive.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
Many employers provide relevant training programmes for staff who are not fully qualified or who wish to gain further qualifications. For example, local authorities recruit staff at assistant or trainee building control surveyor level and support them through release for part-time study to full professional qualification.
Graduates with degrees approved by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and who have entered relevant employment, can become chartered surveyors by completing the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). This work-based professional training scheme usually lasts for two years and requires an achievement of specific competencies. (Satisfactory completion of an RICS-accredited industrial training year, as part of a degree, will count towards the APC.) Towards the end of the training period they must give a formal presentation and attend an interview. If successful, they become chartered building surveyors and may undertake the full range of building surveying and building control duties.
Graduates without an RICS-accredited degree will usually complete their conversion course before studying for chartered status. Some graduates may be able to complete the APC at the same time.
Corporate membership of the Association of Building Engineers (ABE) is open to graduates and requires a minimum of one year of approved experience during which candidates compile a portfolio of evidence. They must present this and attend a professional interview in order to qualify. Associate membership of the ABE is open to diplomates who have a minimum of two years of relevant experience.
There are many opportunities for career development within local authorities that have large building control departments and well-established promotion routes to more senior posts. Opportunities may also exist to become head of a much larger department employing other built environment professionals.
Within the public sector, surveyors frequently move between local authorities in order to gain broader experience and seek more senior positions.
Building control surveyors working in the private sector can advance through their firm's structure or move to a larger firm in order to gain promotion. There are also opportunities for self-employment as an approved inspector.
There are opportunities to move into lecturing work in universities offering courses in built environment subjects. There are also openings for employment overseas, since the two British qualifications are accepted and widely respected in many countries.
Surveying is a diverse profession, and there are opportunities to transfer to other areas of surveying as a career move.
In order to progress professionally, it is important to gain additional professional qualifications and undertake agreed levels of continuing professional development (CPD).
Building control is a statutory duty of local authorities so the major employers of building control surveyors are the building control departments of local authorities throughout the UK. Councils may have separate building control departments or departments providing a range of property-related services. See the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) website for more information.
Traditionally, only inspectors from the local authority were authorised to undertake building control. However, the Building Act 1984 has opened up the market, allowing qualified individuals and firms in the private sector to fulfil this role in England and Wales. Within Northern Ireland the building control function is entirely administered and controlled by the local authority district councils. This is also the case in Scotland, where all local authorities are members of the Scottish Association of Building Standards Managers (SABSM) .
Consequently, there are increasing opportunities for building control surveyors to work in the private sector for independent firms of consultants, as approved inspectors. Approved inspectors have the same responsibilities and powers as local authority departments, although they issue the final completion certificate to the local authority, rather than to the applicant.
Opportunities also exist for suitably qualified and experienced surveyors to work independently as self-employed approved inspectors, although they need to be registered on the Approved Inspector Register of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) .
There are currently about 60 approved inspectors in England and Wales, accounting for about 20% of all building control work. They range from specialist individuals to very large companies.
Property owners and developers who wish to apply for building authorisation can choose to use their local authority building control officer or an approved inspector. Generally, approved inspectors, working exclusively for their clients, are able to expedite the process.
Recruitment agencies also handle vacancies. See the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) website for details, as well as RICS-approved recruitment agency Macdonald and Company .
Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.
Tweet