Countrywide’s first surveyor trainees graduate
9 February 2015
As the UK faces a skills shortage of chartered surveyors, the first graduates of surveyor firm Countrywide’s trainee programme are now fully qualified as associates of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Mon, 9 Feb 2015As the UK faces a skills shortage of chartered surveyors, the first graduates of surveyor firm Countrywide’s trainee programme are now fully qualified as associates of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
This past week saw 87 trainees graduate from Countrywide’s Surveying Services trainee programme that was set up in October 2013, to address increasing demand for surveyors to complete valuations and assessments for house buyers after the market began to pick up earlier that year.
A RICS survey, published today [9 February], has revealed the full scale of the problem created by this skills shortage. It found two in five (43%) surveying firms are currently turning down new business opportunities due to a dearth of skilled workers, with each firm passing up an average of five contracts per year.
A Countrywide spokesperson told Recruiter the company chose to launch its own programme so it was able to meet the demand for surveyors in parts of the country where they were most needed.
“It was to fill a gap in terms of talent within the industry, but also when the housing market started to pick up again in 2013 to ensure we had the right surveyors in the right places to do the work.
“There were some areas of the UK where the housing market picked up more quickly than others,” she added.
But James Perris, director at chartered surveyors De Villiers Associates, does not see the problem of a lack of surveyors going away anytime soon.
“I think it’s a problem that is going to get worse because the average age of a residential valuer is the wrong side of 50.
“You need to get some fresh blood in. There’s no way other way to do it,” he added.
This past week saw 87 trainees graduate from Countrywide’s Surveying Services trainee programme that was set up in October 2013, to address increasing demand for surveyors to complete valuations and assessments for house buyers after the market began to pick up earlier that year.
A RICS survey, published today [9 February], has revealed the full scale of the problem created by this skills shortage. It found two in five (43%) surveying firms are currently turning down new business opportunities due to a dearth of skilled workers, with each firm passing up an average of five contracts per year.
A Countrywide spokesperson told Recruiter the company chose to launch its own programme so it was able to meet the demand for surveyors in parts of the country where they were most needed.
“It was to fill a gap in terms of talent within the industry, but also when the housing market started to pick up again in 2013 to ensure we had the right surveyors in the right places to do the work.
“There were some areas of the UK where the housing market picked up more quickly than others,” she added.
But James Perris, director at chartered surveyors De Villiers Associates, does not see the problem of a lack of surveyors going away anytime soon.
“I think it’s a problem that is going to get worse because the average age of a residential valuer is the wrong side of 50.
“You need to get some fresh blood in. There’s no way other way to do it,” he added.
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