As thousands of young people consider their next steps after this year’s results days, Adella Brown, Early Careers Manager at Fisher German, explains why the property sector needs to engage young people earlier, show the breadth of careers available and make the different routes into the profession easier to understand.
Exam results days are one of the first points at which future careers can start to influence decisions about what to study next. For the property sector, it should also expose a persistent problem: too many young people still have a limited idea of what a career in the industry actually involves.
Ask someone outside the sector what working in property means and estate agency or housebuilding will usually be among the first answers. Both are important parts of the industry, but they represent only a fraction of the work being done across property, land and the built environment.
Surveyors, planners and consultants are involved in major infrastructure and energy schemes, rural estates, commercial property, development and the management of land and buildings. They advise landowners, businesses, occupiers and investors, and help work through decisions that can shape places and communities for years to come.
Yet much of that work is largely invisible to people who have not already encountered the profession.
That is where the recruitment challenge lies. If young people do not know these roles exist, we cannot expect them to consider exploring a career in the property sector.
The breadth of the property sector is one of its strongest attractions, but this will only be an option if the industry can explain that breadth in a way that feels relevant and accessible to someone deciding what to do next.
In my role at Fisher German, I see how different disciplines come together on the same client or project. Rural, infrastructure, planning, commercial and development teams may all bring a different perspective to a piece of work. For someone at the start of their career, that exposure is invaluable because it shows that ‘property’ is not just one job or a specific route, but a profession with many possible directions.
At 16 or 18, nobody needs to have their career mapped out, but understanding the routes that could be open to them can help make those next choices more informed. The routes into the sector are changing too. University followed by a graduate role remains an important path, but it is no longer the only one young people are seriously considering.
Apprenticeships offer the opportunity to keep learning while gaining practical experience and earning a salary, which can make the profession accessible to people who may not see a traditional full-time university route as the right fit.
At Fisher German, degree apprentices can work in areas including infrastructure, rural and commercial surveying while studying at university, with their degree funded as they build the experience required to progress towards Chartered Surveyor status through RICS.
The value of that model is the connection between theory and practice: something learned academically can be applied to a live project, while an issue encountered at work can give new meaning to the theory.
Graduate roles benefit from the same principle. People learn fastest when they are involved in meaningful work, supported by experienced colleagues and given more responsibility as their confidence develops.
Early careers colleagues are not simply future talent either. They bring different experiences and expectations into teams, are often comfortable experimenting with technology and are willing to question why established processes work the way they do and offer new perspectives that can be useful for the wider business as well as for their own development.
The exchange works both ways, property is a technical profession, but equally a human one. Some of the most valuable lessons come from watching an experienced colleague handle a difficult client conversation, balance technical advice with commercial judgement or explain why one approach is more appropriate than another.
Structured support for professional qualifications matters, but so does the day-to-day transfer of judgement and experience between generations. That is why mentoring is central to our early careers offering at Fisher German.
The sector’s job is not to expect young people to have a perfect career choice mapped out by the time they leave school. It is to give them sufficient exposure to understand their options. Work experience, placements, apprenticeships, graduate roles and open conversations with people already doing the job all help to build an insight into a career in the property sector.
If property wants to attract talented people with different skills, perspectives and ambitions, it cannot rely on them discovering the profession by accident.
Results days are a timely reminder that the sector needs to reach young people earlier. That means being much more visible about what it offers, clearer about the different ways in, and better at showing young people the impact they could have once they arrive.