September has brought along the start of my five-year Rural Enterprise and Land Management (REALM) Degree Apprenticeship. Both myself and fellow Trainee Surveyor, Grace Allen from our Cumbria Office, will be completing this Apprenticeship at Harper Adams University whilst working and being supported by Armitstead Barnett as our employer. 

The Degree Apprenticeship programme aims to allow us to gain a qualification, whilst gaining real life hands-on experience of the industry through working in professional practice. Moving forward, we will be attending University for approximately one week a month from September through to March over the next 5 years, participating in lectures and tutorials in which we receive teaching from industry professionals in over 20 different areas. The areas we will be studying during our first year comprise:

Animal production (Land Management)

Sustainable crop production

Estate management law

Professional practice skills development

Valuation and estate management

Through the apprenticeship scheme we will, at the end of the 5 years, have earned a BSc (Hons) Rural Enterprise and Land Management Degree, which will enable us to complete the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) interview in due course, with the aim of becoming a fully chartered member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. 

The mix between university and industry working will really help when learning the role of a rural surveyor, as I will be able to apply my classroom learning in real life situations. The role is very diverse, and no two days look the same. During my ‘work weeks’ at Armitstead Barnett, I will be taking part in meetings and site visits alongside colleagues and existing Chartered Surveyors to get a feel for the job and how it works, before eventually starting to manage jobs and matters of my own. In my first two weeks I have already shadowed surveyors completing secured lending valuations, marketing appraisals for smallholdings and land, site meetings for a canal burst repair, site meetings for rural grant funding schemes, residential letting inspections and attended meetings to prepare sales particulars for a block of agricultural land.

I really am looking forward to growing in this profession and business through my apprenticeship. If myself, Grace or Armitstead Barnett can be of any help in terms of this course or just general questions then please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will be more than happy to help.