15 new colleagues join our AssocRICS programme

We recently welcomed 15 new colleagues to our AssocRICS programme. We asked them they why want to be residential surveyors and why they chose to train with e.surv.

Last week we were delighted to welcome 15 new colleagues to our Graduate AssocRICS Programme Over the next 12 months, they’ll be guided by their personal mentors and our Learning and Development  team through a combination of on­ the-job training and classroom sessions to become qualified AssocRICS surveyors at e.surv.

During their induction, we took the opportunity to ask them why they wanted to be residential surveyors,  why they chose e.surv and what they’re most looking forward to about our AssocRICS Programme. Here’s what some of them had to say:

Danica Hole

“I’ve been in the property industry for 20 years and I got to a stage where I felt I needed a change of career, but still utilising my skills and experience.

“I came across the trainee scheme about 18 months ago when I saw it advertised on Linkedln . I’d always thought that you needed a surveying degree to become a surveyor so I’d never looked into it further.

“Due to circumstances out of my control, I wasn’t in a position to apply at that time and then COVID happened. I then spent time looking into the career by way of contacting some surveyors and other trainees  on LinkedIn, as well as enrolling in webinars to get an insight into the life of a surveyor. It all confirmed that this was the right path for me.

“I’m really looking forward to learning so much more about  property and creating a  new career  for  myself  within an area I’m so passionate about.”

John Gardner-Andrews

“I worked as an estate agent for many years and was in a position where I was able to interact with many surveyors on different issues, mortgage valuations and lease extensions.

“I applied to e.surv after one of the surveyors valued my parents’ home last year and his enthusiasm for the company was infectious. After reading up about the company, I felt that it would be a great fit for me.

”The thing I am most looking forward to is absorbing as much information as I can from the trainers and guest speakers and then applying it to real-world examples.”

Ed Ludbrook

“I have always been fascinated with the idea of becoming a building surveyor; my entire early

life, from being quite a small child, was spent either renovating historic  houses  with my father  or  working on my stepfathers building sites.

“Of all the skills I learnt and observed whilst doing this, the one I enjoyed and admired the most was the initial inspection of new projects or jobs. The process of identifying and chasing down the cause of faults and analysing the likely cause and rectification hugely appealed to my technical and scientific nature. I relished scoping out new projects and sites and listening to the tradesmen, surveyors and other professionals on-site and picking up fascinating insights. 

“Whilst I am new to the industry, I was attracted by the depth and quality of the training on offer at e.surv and I am most looking forward to getting out on-site and being fully qualified. In this sense, the job will be its own reward.”

Suj Kerai

“Having worked in estate agency for 6 years, I regularly came face to face with residential surveyors. I always admired their knowledge and expertise and would read any survey report that I was sent with great interest.

“However, it was only once I got the opportunity to shadow an experienced surveyor that I decided residential surveying was 100% the correct pathway for me. The idea of flexible working, constant learning and, most of all, ‘not a typical desk job’ most appealed to me.

“Being aware of RICS’ tough requirements, I was delighted to discover that a highly regarded company such as e.surv had a trainee surveyor programme which would not only consider estate agents without a RICS qualification but had a 100% pass rate too!

“I am absolutely delighted to be on the programme and most looking forward to gaining in-depth knowledge and applying this out on the field.”

Matthew Payne

“I am a passionate problem solver; I want to understand how things work and how I could improve them. We all live in a property of a certain era and I have been lucky enough to have torn a few houses down to the bare bones to reveal the skeletons hiding in the closet, as it were. My passion and experience has therefore fueled a love for diagnosing a building’s construction methods, underlying issues and remedial courses of action.

“My father is an engineer and my uncles are builders and fabricators, so at a very young age I was involved in projects as the lackey. When moving into a new home, at around 8 years old, my father/uncle employed me to crawl into the sub-floor void and clear out any builder’s rubble or waste that may be present.

“I have followed e.surv via LinkedIn for a long time now and I ambitiously applied for this very position when I became aware of the opportunity, just 4 months into my Master’s degree. Thankfully, I was successful  the second time of trying and I am so grateful to be given this opportunity with such a well-regarded company. I believe e.surv is on the leading edge of  technology, training and development, and I see a long and fruitful career here.

“I am fortunate enough to be working in the Northern region which contains many period properties, barn conversions and one-off experiences. I am also excited to learn from my mentors and managers, eventually becoming a vital part of the team.”

Simon Ellis

“An early interest in buildings and DIV, and advice from a school careers advisor led to the decision to do a degree in Construction and Surveying.

“I’ve worked in the construction industry for the past 7-8 years as a Commercial Manager/Quantity Surveyor but have always wanted to get into a role where I can spend more time away from the desk to see more buildings, work with the public and provide a beneficial service.

“I saw the AssocRICS Programme advertised on RICS Recruit having decided on a career change and looking for a route into building surveying. The structure  of the training programme  and the  opportunity  to progress was a big appeal.

“I’m looking forward to being able to get out and about with my mentor and seeing first hand what it takes to become a fully qualified surveyor, and gaining as much knowledge as possible over the next 12 months and beyond.”

Want to join our AssocRICS Programme?

If you’d like to find out more about our AssocRICS Programme, click here.