Apprentice Surveyor Review

My role is in Affordable Housing valuations. We value properties mainly for loan security. This is to ensure that banks can get their money back if a registered provider of housing fails to pay back their loan. My day to day involves assisting the Surveyors with these valuations. This involves me gathering comparable data, filling out parts of the valuation reports, going on internal and external inspections and any other due diligence. As I progress into my role I have been given more responsibilities with running the actual valuations with the DCF/other models, and completing Jobs start to finish

From the beginning of my apprenticeship to now I’ve developed my excel skills, now being able to run formulas and understand them more. This role has also allowed me to improve on my interaction with clients and how to approach them in a professional manner. This job has also made me improve on my communication skills as a whole

I enjoy my programme a lot. This programme has given me an alternative route to traditional uni, allowing me to study for my degree and also learn on the job. This is a perfect balance as I can apply what I learn at uni to my day to day job and vice versa

My programme is very well structured. We have a designated time for off the job training. This always us to come away from our jobs and focus on our uni studies. This gives us a balance between working and studying. We also have monthly reviews sometimes weekly which allows us to reflect on how the apprenticeship is going. The HR team is very organised and informs us well in regards to the programme.

I get a lot of support from my employer. If I have any concerns I can easily reach out to the HR team and also my line manager and any other colleague. The company also help us with the studying for our qualifications and I think that is very helpful and important for any apprenticeship

My training provider will help us with studying towards our APC to become Chartered Surveyors. This includes helping with our interview prep and also completing our case studies and anything else that has to do with the application. This is great as it gives us a slight advantage in the process of getting professionally qualified

My qualification helps a lot with my role. Coming straight from sixth form my knowledge in property was not the strongest. However studying a Real Estate degree allows me to gain more knowledge and incorporate it into my role. This is shown perfectly through my studying of contracts and law related topics which has made me more aware of what I need to do and what I can not/shouldn’t do.

At work there are many social events including team events, whole division events and apprentice/grad events. These are great as it allows everyone to be well acquainted and boosts morale on a whole. There are also other events such as career fairs which HR make us aware of and we can get involved in that and spread awareness about the company and the opportunities it offers

Yes

I believe Savills is a great place to start your career. They are passionate about helping develop us professionally and in other ways aswell. The room to move around in the company is great and let’s us be flexible and find the right fit for us in the company

I would say researching the company is something they should do, whilst preparing questions that could be asked. Make sure to personalise your application and make your passion and enthusiasm is perfectly portrayed in your application. As an apprentice you are not expected to know a whole lot so do not be afraid to ask questions