Route to Rural campaign encouraging next generation of surveyors

As part of on-going efforts to bring more people into the rural surveying profession, a new Route to Rural campaign has been launched by the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), supported by the industry and a number of rural colleges and universities.

Route to Rural Week commences 21 October, and there will be a sustained social media campaign that week to highlight rural surveying as a profession to as wide a group of people as possible. Just search for the hashtags #routetorural and #trustedadviser.

From school leavers, to graduates to those leaving the military or anyone just looking for a career change, there is scope to learn more about how (and why!) to become a rural surveyor on the dedicated Route to Rural webpages linked here.

There is also a register of firms willing to offer work experience so that anyone interested can get a feel for the profession and what a working week may look like, although two weeks are rarely the same in this job.

If you have children or grandchildren aged from 15 upwards who aren’t sure what sort of career they may wish to go into, why not share a link to the above webpages and plant the seed of rural surveying as an option?

Rural surveyors (also known as land agents, auctioneers and agricultural valuers) work in various sectors and locations, from private sector firms (both regional and national), to landed estates, to infrastructure/utility companies, charities, local and national government bodies and NGOs. They act as trusted advisors to their clients and give advice on a wide range of topics from access to tenancy matters, government schemes to valuations and more.

While membership of the CAAV is up 16% from eight years ago, there is still need for more people to join this growing profession as a number of firms are noting a lack of candidates coming forward for job roles. Job roles which are ever increasing due to fast changing government policies and increased diversification within the agricultural industry.

So, if you want to be a professional, working in the countryside, dealing with a wide range of people and having practical discussions while problem-solving, all to help add value to their business and make a real difference, then rural surveying might just be the career for you.

In order to become a surveyor, there is some academic work required alongside practical experience, prior to sitting the requisite RICS and/or CAAV examinations to become a qualified member of the profession.

Here in the South East region, Reading university offers RICS-accredited courses in estate management and Plumpton College recently launched an apprenticeship course so that people can earn as they learn and qualify into the profession. There are many other established universities including Harper Adams and the Royal Agricultural University – both of which have been training up students to become land agents for almost a century. So there is a route for everyone.

As the CLA’s rural surveyor in the South East region, I am more than happy to speak with any CLA members, or their family, about what this career entails and why it is worth considering.