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Entry and Assessment Steering Group

The Entry and Assessment Steering Group which was accountable to RICS’ Standards and Regulation Board (SRB) formed in late 2021 with the purpose to provide senior leadership and direction to RICS’ review of entry and assessment to the profession.

It was led by an independent Chair, Sarah Hutchinson, and during its time it oversaw the in-depth review of all aspects of entry and assessment, including the journey from pre-qualification, up to post-qualification. The project reviewed and recommended changes to the following areas, which would be subject to membership consultation:

Eligibility requirements, including the role of the accredited degree and other types of qualifications, experience requirements, direct entry routes and their impact on diversity
Role of student and membership levels (Assoc, MRICS and FRICS)
Pathways and competencies
Methods of assessment, including the role of computer-based assessments
Chartered designations
Other schemes and certifications
Relationship to post-entry learning and career and professional development.

Following the conclusion of their work in March 2024, their final report was presented to the SRB, and will shortly be published. In the meantime, further information about their work, including an interim report can be found here Review of Entry and Assessment into the Profession (rics.org).

Chair, Sarah Hutchinson

Sarah qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales and practised as a commercial lawyer in London and Manchester before specialising in legal education and international professional qualifications.

Sarah is a non-executive director of BARBRI Global (and formerly its Managing Director). BARBRI provides professional education to law students and lawyers throughout their careers in the US, the UK and globally. BARBRI has supported more than 1.3 million lawyers to succeed in their national qualification examinations.

Sarah is the immediate past-Chair of the Section of Public and Professional Interest of the International Bar Association and a member of the IBA’s management board and Council. Sarah is formerly Chair of the International committee of the Law Society of England & Wales

Members of the Steering Group

Keith is a Chartered Development Surveyor (FRICS), Chartered Town Planner (FRTPI) and member of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) with nearly 40 years professional experience. He has run his own independent consultancy practice PER Consulting, for the past ten years working largely with central and local government clients on strategic planning, regeneration, and economic growth delivery. Before that he held senior leadership roles at property consultancy firms including Chesteron International, DTZ and AECOM.

He is an experienced APC Assessor, panel Chair, mentor and counsellor for candidates entering the RICS and believes passionately in the need to widen routes of entry to the profession and the vital importance of candidate support networks. He brings further experience of the RTPI APC process and previously chaired the institute’s Membership and Advisory Panel, setting the standards for assessment and overseeing guidance on new routes to membership. Keith also acted as an Academic Partnership member, was a Director of Planning Aid Wales and served as a trustee of the International Ethics Coalition.

David qualified as a chartered surveyor in Dublin, Ireland in 1994. In 2002 he relocated from Dublin to London to broaden his industry experience. He has over fifteen years of industry experience in office agency, shopping centre asset management and commercial property valuations in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. During this time, he worked with several leading real estate firms such as JLL and Colliers International and other firms which have since been subsumed into international firms such as CBRE and Deloitte.

In 2011 David became a full-time academic at the University College of Estate Management (UCEM) specialising in property investment, valuation, property asset management and property agency in the commercial property sector. He is the programme leader for the MSc Real Estate. He is a knowledge expert at UCEM on the subject of ‘Ethics’ and a member of the institution’s EDI and apprenticeships working groups. UCEM is the leading provider of supported online education for the built environment.

He is an APC assessor/chair for both the RICS and SCSI (Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland) and a member of the ‘Education and CPD’ standing committee at the SCSI.

In 2022 David was elected to the ‘Academia and Education’ seat on the RICS Governing Council. On being elected he pledged to focus on promoting ethical standards in industry, encourage greater inter-disciplinary engagement between disciplines and their representative bodies and to promote policies that will attract the most talented people to our industry.

Megan is a Quantity Surveyor for WT Partnership, working predominately on delivering complex new build health care schemes across the UK. Her professional journey began five years ago when she embarked on a chartered degree apprenticeship after completing her full-time education in 2018. She completed her degree in September 2022 and successfully achieved her assessment of professional competence in June 2023, becoming a chartered member of the RICS.

As a young female in the construction industry, Megan recognises that she belongs to a minority group. However, she acknowledges that some individuals face more significant barriers than herself. She believes that every candidate should have an equal opportunity to gain the RICS qualification and demonstrate their professional competence, and that the resources provided by RICS should serve as the foundation for this.

She views this role within the Entry and Assessment Steering Group as essential in providing an opportunity for those considering RICS qualification, her current insight and personal experience will contribute significantly to support and shape the entry and assessment process for all candidates.

Megan is a very proactive and driven individual who constantly seeks to make her way of working more efficient to maintain high-quality service standards. She is also heavily involved in her company's corporate social responsibility initiatives and has completed marathons, skydives, and challenging treks to raise money for local charities. Megan continues to work hard to make a positive impact on the profession and is one of the few finalists nominated for the RICS Matrics, Apprentice of the Year.

Antoinette is a Senior Development Manager within Surrey County Council, specialising in the education sector.

She is an experienced construction professional, having worked within both private and public sectors, spending 24 years in the public sector in various roles. Over 10 of those years were spent gaining extensive experience in all aspects of construction project management, including refurbishment, new build residential, temporary accommodation, assisted living accommodation and schools.

Antoinette is also a Communications Professional, specialising in PR, crisis communications and stakeholder management, has served on a College Interim Management Board, and is currently Co-Chair of a Minority Ethnic and Allies Network to support the agenda of creating a more inclusive organisation, by way of informing corporate strategy, policy and practice. She also recently featured in a London billboard campaign as part of her work to promote the construction industry to black professionals.

Antoinette has a very keen interest in construction Alternative Dispute Resolution which she plans on extending her knowledge in, in the very near future.

Craig is Director of Estate for the Science Museum Group and is responsible for the sustainable management and maintenance of a large, diverse and public museum estate. As strategic lead for the decarbonisation of the group’s property, he is an advocate of sustainable practice within the FM industry.

He started his career as a modern apprentice within the Information, Communication Technology sector, qualifying as a Systems Analyst for a global solutions provider before his work on infrastructure and building systems eventually led his transition to a career within the built environment.

Craig is a specialist in Estate and Facilities Management having held senior roles at a variety of cultural and commercial organisations. His substantial experience gained over the past 20 years includes the care for and restoration of historic buildings as well the successful operation and maintenance of large scale, complex estates.

Craig holds a Master of Science Degree (MSc) with distinction in Applied Facilities Management from Liverpool John Moores University and is a certified member of the Institute for Workplace and Facilities Management (CIWFM). He is a chartered member of the RICS (MRICS) and active contributor to the industry.

Paul is a former Member of RICS’ Governing Council. He started his professional career in the Valuation Office of Northern Ireland, but spent most of his career in higher education where he has been an associate head of surveying and head of architecture and civil engineering at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). He is now teaching planning, design and development subjects within NTU’s Property Management and Development department. He has interests in master planning, urban design and green roofs and green infrastructure.

Over 2015-16 he contributed as a panel member for the review of the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency’s Subject Benchmark ‘Land, Construction, Real Estate and Surveying’ which provides guidance for the educational curriculum of nearly all the major surveying based disciplines. Outside of NTU Paul is currently:

Chair of the RICS Planning & Development Professional Board and undertakes APC work for planning & development, management consultancy and academic pathways
Member of the RICS International Land & Resources Board and its Planning Policy Panel
External examiner for the MSc Real Estate at the Neapolis University Pafos, Cyprus and for the BSc Property Studies for The Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland, Dublin
A board member of social enterprise and charity with the Nottingham Energy Partnership, charged with energy saving and generation in and around Nottingham
Feature editor for the Estates Gazette/EG’s Mainly for Students column
A ‘must try harder’ vegetable gardener with half an allotment shared with an architect.

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Entry and Assessment Steering Group

Chair, Sarah Hutchinson

Members of the Steering Group

Keith Thomas FRICS Chair, RICS Qualifications and Assessment Committee

David H Hourihan MSc Prop Inv FRICS, Fellow Member, RICS Governing Council

Megan Cawthorne MRICS, Professional Member

Antoinette Antoine RICS, Candidate Member

Craig Bentley MRICS, Professional Member

Paul Collins, FRICS, Fellow Member

SRB Sub-Committees and Expert Working Groups