Earlier this month, News on the Block, Jen Lemen BSc Hons (FRICS) of Property Elite and Annie McGrandles, FIRPM MRICS, Head of Portfolio and Block Management at Property Management Recruitment, held a webinar for over 150 block managers on how to become RICS qualified.
As a follow up to this webinar, we will be running a series of articles on how you can become qualified either as AssocRICS or MRICS. In today’s article, we will be looking at how to decide which level of RICS membership is right for your skills, experience and qualifications.
Alongside other residential and block management qualifications or professional body memberships, joining the RICS is an excellent way to:
- Develop your skills and knowledge
- Enhance your career and earning potential
- Build your reputation with your clients and the general public
- Demonstrate your commitment to the highest ethical and professional standards
- Network with other property professionals
There are three levels of RICS membership; AssocRICS, MRICS and FRICS. FRICS is the highest level of qualification, with an additional written assessment based on going ‘above and beyond’ the role of a Chartered Surveyor. We will not discuss this further today as it requires you to already be MRICS.
AssocRICS is a vocational qualification based on having:
- 1 year of relevant experience and a relevant bachelor’s degree
- 2 years of relevant experience and a relevant higher/advanced/foundation qualification
- 4 years of relevant experience (no qualifications required)
This means that it is not essential to have a degree to become AssocRICS and it can be based on your work experience alone. Becoming AssocRICS does not allow you to use the protected title, Chartered Surveyor.
AssocRICS requires a written assessment only, with no interview.
If you already hold CIHCM, MIRPM or specific PropertyMark qualifications (see https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/approved_qualifications_for_direct_entry_to_assocrics_february_2023.pdf), then there is a shortened application process to go through (called Direct Entry).
MRICS is the ‘gold standard’ of RICS membership, giving you the ability to call yourself a Chartered Surveyor. There are a number of routes to MRICS:
- Structured training – requiring an RICS accredited degree and either 0-5 years’ experience (24 months’ structured training) or 5-10 years’ experience (12 months’ structured training)
- Straight to assessment – requiring an RICS accredited degree and 10+ years’ experience
- Preliminary review – requiring any (non-cognate / non RICS-accredited) degree or a recognised professional body membership, plus 5+ years’ experience
- Senior Professional (SPA) – requiring 10 years’ relevant experience and a senior management role (or 5 years’ relevant experience if you have a relevant postgraduate degree)
- Specialist – requiring 10 years’ relevant experience and a specialist role (or 5 years’ relevant experience if you have a relevant postgraduate degree)
Most of the routes above require a degree, with the exception of SPA and Specialist. These, however, require more extensive experience and more specific roles than the other routes. For experienced block managers who run, manage or lead a firm, these routes to becoming MRICS may be suitable.
The assessment process to become MRICS is called the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). It requires a written submission and then a 60 minute online interview, based on your submission.
Sometimes more than one route may be available to you, e.g. an experienced professional with an RICS accredited degree may be eligible for straight to assessment and SPA. As a result, we recommend booking in a 15 minute consultation with Property Elite if you would like to discuss your qualification journey further.
Jen Lemen BSc (Hons) FRICS is a partner and co-founder of Property Elite, providing training, support and coaching to candidates, AssocRICS surveyors and Chartered Surveyors for the RICS APC, AssocRICS and FRICS qualifications.
