The employers' perspective of the impact of RICS education reform on building surveying

Purpose – This paper seeks to present the second part of research funded by the RICS Education Trust to investigate the impact of the 2001 education reforms on Building Surveying. The first part of the research involved the collection of data from university course leaders. Design/methodology/approach – This research involved the collection of data from large national, mainly London-based, employers of building surveyors at a focus group meeting. Findings – The paper finds that issues of concern to these employers include the extent of construction technology knowledge of graduates, the delivery of contract administration, the placement year, post-graduate conversion courses and the high referral rate for the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). Recommendations include advice to universities on the design of building surveying undergraduate and conversion courses, a call for further research on the high APC referral rate, and greater liaison between industry and universities. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of the research is that the employers from whom data were collected were mainly large, national firms. Further research would be required to elicit the views of smaller regional organisations. Practical implications – Both parts of this RICS Education Trust funded research provides a foundation for the Building Surveying Faculty of the RICS to complete their review of the education and training of building surveyors. Originality/value – The research provides useful data on the impact of RICS education reform on building surveying, but mainly large, national firms