29/07/2010

Accredited surveyors have welcomed 760 new members to their ranks, after they successfully completed their Assessment of Professional Competence with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The qualification is a two to three year period of structured training in surveying, leading to chartered status. Achieving it is no easy task, with the 760 successful candidates coming from a total pool of 1,100.

The diversifying nature of the profession means surveyors can train in one or more of 17 disciplines ranging from arts and antiques to machinery and business assets, property finance and investment, through to taxation allowances and valuation.

Among those successful were 60 candidates from the South West of England, who trained in specific areas of surveying, including commercial, quantity and building. Fourteen of the successful South West surveyors were female, indicating a small rise in the number of women choosing a career in surveying.

The West region's RICS operations director, Matthew McKaig, said, “These new professionals have passed the most challenging of assessments to become chartered surveyors, many of them having already completed a property-related degree."

He added that gaining the letters 'MRICS' after their name – the world's leading surveying qualification – meant they could now pursue their careers to greater reward almost anywhere in the world.