Why real estate must fully embrace the apprenticeship route

COMMENT Over the past decade, the provision of apprenticeships has transformed beyond recognition; faster than many employers appreciate, have been able to adapt to or to benefit from. It is no longer necessary to attend university full time to achieve an honours degree, or even a masters. Both can be achieved through work-based apprenticeships. However, despite the opportunity they bring, there remains a lack of recognition that apprenticeships are not just an alternative, but arguably a better way of training professionals than traditional academic routes. While apprenticeships are delivered primarily in the workplace in much the same way as doctor training, apprentices are not always held in the same high esteem as medical students. But with more young people choosing not to attend university full time, often owing to the cost of student loans, unless the apprenticeship route is fully embraced by the real estate sector, improving diversity of recruitment will be difficult to achieve. Potential barriers Why are there not as many apprentices in the estate management and built environment professions as other professions? Why is our sector taking so long to fully engage a programme that covers up to 95% of the training costs for the next generation of loyal professionals, who will be trained to meet a company’s exact requirements? Surely the benefits speak for themselves? An apprenticeship can be started by anyone over the age of 16 who meets the entry requirements, and many people in the sector use the programmes to enable career progression in their 20s, 30s and 40s. However, apprenticeships were intended to bring young people into the sector. And bringing young people, particularly those from non-traditional backgrounds on board, has practical implications that put some employers off – particularly smaller companies that don’t have HR specialists, training programmes or apprenticeship staff. A 22-year-old graduate can be accepted into a company environment as a trainee surveyor and can follow the paths of their managers to develop their route to APC and become chartered. A 16 or 18-year-old will most likely require more support as they develop as adults in the workplace. Plus, many employers may feel that a commitment to a young person is potentially more risky. A five or six-year commitment to training the next generation of professionals requires confidence in the future of the business and a skills and capability strategy. Add to that the fear of the bureaucracy associated with government-funded programmes and it is understandable that employers might pause for thought. Help is at hand Apprenticeship training providers (eg, universities, further education colleges or private providers) do much to help apprentices complete their training and support employers; it is their job after all. Indeed, for surveyors, the final payment to the provider of a surveying degree apprentice is only made once the student achieves their MRICS. So it is in everyone’s interest to ensure the apprentice is happy, well trained, gets the experience they need and completes the course. The Chartered Surveyors Training Trust is a charity that was established to help those who struggle to enter the surveying profession from more diverse groups. We work to raise the profile of the sector and professions through schools engagement. We are increasing the number and diversity of candidates for employers to recruit into what is still a profession dominated by white, middle-class, privately educated men; 45% of employees in property firms attended an independent or selective state school, for example (Bridge Report, JLL Foundation 2020). The CSTT works with companies, professional bodies and partners to: provide a pipeline of interested young people for the whole built environment through our free-to-use schools programme, My Environment My Future; award bursaries for access courses and support those with dyslexia and ADHD to gain a formal assessment of their needs to achieve success; develop after-school sustainability clubs for schools, designed to be delivered by a teacher or sixth form student under the supervision of one of our geography teachers; and offer support to employers to explore apprenticeships directly or through “shared apprenticeship” schemes where employers effectively take on apprentices as a contracted member of staff for as little as six months or for the entirety of their apprenticeship. These are among the ways to overcome the employers’ concerns of long-term commitment, provide pastoral care and deliver the experience an apprentice needs. Significant benefits Apprenticeships provide a relatively new route into the professions and one that can attract people from a wider talent pool, ensuring the industry is representative of the communities it serves. It is beneficial to everyone to build a more representative workforce in real estate to help create a better built environment, open up exciting career opportunities to more young people and future-proof real estate companies. Terry Watts is chief executive at the Chartered Surveyors Training Trust