Building surveyor : Training

Graduates with degrees approved by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)  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. (Satisfactory completion of an RICS-accredited industrial training year, as part of a degree, will count towards the APC.)

Candidates are required to record a minimum of two years' practical experience during which mandatory competencies such as interpersonal and business skills, core competencies specific to building surveying, and optional competencies are achieved. You will need to provide written evidence of your experience alongside critical analysis and a report. The final assessment is by interview at an assessment centre and will include delivering a presentation.

Graduates who have not studied for an accredited degree will usually complete their conversion course before studying for chartered status, although some may be able to complete the APC at the same time.

Successful completion of the APC provides overall competence to practise.

If you wish to work as a technical surveyor you will need to complete the Assessment of Technical Competence (ATC), a separate qualification leading to chartered status. The ATC mirrors the format of the APC. Probationers on the APC route who do not successfully complete the scheme may be able to move over to the technical route and become technical members of RICS ('TechRICS'). This integrated training structure includes provision for either level of membership; those following either path may have the opportunity to bridge across into the other path.

An HND in a related discipline may provide exemption from the first year of an accredited degree. Diplomates with a relevant HND can reach technical surveyor status by completing two years' structured training and the RICS ATC.