Alison Watson MBE, president of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors, discusses the launch of the CICES Education Panel, which is bringing together academics and industry to create a clearer, more coherent path into the industry
The launch of my 2024-25 CICES presidential theme: Make Space for Education, was a challenge – to our institution, the wider surveying community and the entire construction industry. A challenge to take education seriously. It’s not a box-ticking exercise; it’s a vital piece of the skills jigsaw we’ve ignored for far too long.
So we established the CICES Education Panel, because we urgently need a clearer, more coherent route into our profession – and that means listening to and working with those who understand what young people need to succeed.
We need a joined-up approach, from teachers and trainers to employers and early careers specialists. And this panel brings those voices together to ask the big questions, like: Why don’t young people know who we are? Why is surveying not on the careers radar? Why are surveyors so often at the bottom of the pile, or even not included, considering they’re critical to EVERY project? And, most importantly, what are we going to do about it?
What has the CICES Education Panel achieved already?
The Education Panel has brought together committed professionals from across education and industry, who want to fix the skills gap, not just talk about it. The truth is, we’re still too quiet as a profession and risking becoming invisible.
So apprenticeship commitments from leading businesses matter, as signs that employers are beginning to understand that surveying needs its own narrative – and its own investment strategy.
We’ve seen promising engagement from organisations like Balfour Beatty, who are making serious moves to put engineering surveying, digital construction and skills development at the heart of their work.
We’re also having uncomfortable but necessary conversations about diversity, access and progression. It’s one thing to get people in, it’s another to help them stay and thrive.
That’s why we’re looking at how to better align professional standards and education pathways. We must ensure that routes into the profession are ambitious, consistent, fair and accessible. We must commit to standardised progression – and to working with schools and colleges to make that highly visible and achievable. And we need professional bodies to work together, not in silos.
Ask five people what a professional surveyor is and you’ll get five different answers. While other disciplines such as civil engineers, quantity surveyors and architects are clearly defined, our branding problem puts us at a disadvantage. If we can’t define ourselves confidently, we can’t expect to be taken seriously in workforce planning.
But make no mistake, this isn’t just about the future workforce; it’s about the future of the profession itself. If we want to clarify what a modern professional surveyor is, we need to start with how we invite people in.
A call-to-arms: Make Space for Education
Make Space for Education was never just a slogan; it’s a rallying cry to put education where it belongs, at the heart of industry strategy, not on the periphery.
For too long, education has been treated as someone else’s problem. But if we want a strong, skilled, diverse profession in 10 years’ time, we need to own this now. That means
building partnerships with schools, creating progression routes that people can see and understand and giving teachers the tools to talk about our industry with confidence.
It also means supporting those who teach construction and surveying and recognising that without great teachers, we don’t get great future professionals.
The CICES Education Panel is the engine room of this theme. It gives shape and action to the challenge, turning big ideas into practical steps forward and it’s something I’m committed to beyond my presidential year. After all, it’s something I do every day in my role at Class Of Your Own.
Future plans and targets of the CICES Education Panel
The Education Panel will be developing a framework to connect employers with education settings in a meaningful way – not just for PR but for long-term impact. We’ll be setting targets around apprenticeship uptake, mentoring and school outreach – and we want more companies to step up and be part of that journey.
We’ll also be pressing ahead with a standardised, recognisable route into civil engineering surveying – one that makes sense to a 14-year-old, not just to industry insiders. If we can build clearer pathways, underpinned by high-quality technical education and real-life projects, we can inspire the next generation to choose us, not just stumble into us.
CICES will continue to work with the Survey Association and other partners across the built environment to push for a joined-up education strategy that recognises surveying as a core profession, not an afterthought.
And we’ll be listening. To young people. To teachers. To employers who want to make a difference. Because if we don’t make space for education, the space for our profession shrinks.
That’s a risk none of us can afford.
If you’re interested in contributing or getting involved with the CICES Education Panel, please email CICES development manager Dominic Lane via Dominic.Lane@cices.org.
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