Degree Apprentice – Building Surveyor

Matthew Seed is undertaking a degree apprenticeship as a Building Surveyor working for English Heritage. English Heritage is a registered charity and is one of the most important guardians of historic sites in England, caring for over 400 historic buildings, monuments, and sites spanning over 6,000 years of history. As a Degree Apprentice Building Surveyor, I am working towards becoming a chartered building surveyor with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). My apprenticeship involves gaining relevant experience alongside studying for a RICS accredited bachelor’s degree in Building Surveying. Every day is different in this job, and I reflect on the learning and activities of the day within a diary. This forms part of my submission to become a chartered building surveyor, as it provides evidence of competence in a range of topics related to building surveying. My work involves researching existing records, plans, standards, or guidance to help prepare or explain information collected on site. Building surveyors get involved in a wide variety of roles in relation to new and existing buildings. As a building surveyor working on historic sites cared for by English Heritage, I may be administrating construction contracts, preparing maintenance schedules, liaising with other professionals to advise a client, or highlighting health and safety concerns. A key part of my role is conducting periodic condition surveys. These record the problems (defects) of a site at a certain point in time and usually involve desktop research followed by a site inspection, which informs a report with recommendations for repair or monitoring. At the desktop research stage, we investigate how the building was originally constructed and how further modifications have impacted it. An understanding of the local geology and the building’s setting is essential to identify the type and properties of materials used on the building and how they perform. When conducting the site inspection, building surveyors are trained to record and consider how the entire building is functioning within its setting, which allows us to better identify probable causes of specific defects. As a cluster manager, I have overall responsibility for five properties within the English Heritage charity. #J-18808-Ljbffr