New Surveyor Qualifications.
We have been working very hard to replace the now defunct Home Inspector Diploma (Dip HI) and now have two new qualifications – the Diploma in Residential Surveying and the Diploma in Residential Surveying and Valuation – which we expect to formally launch in the New Year.
The Diploma in Residential Surveying (Dip R Surv) is an almost direct replacement to the Home Inspector qualification and is likely to appeal to Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA) who want to progress in their career. It is not identical to the original Dip HI; the original qualification did include RDSAP but there is a new element on energy that will cover energy efficiency in a more practical sense and will include renewable technologies etc.
Those who already hold the Home Inspector Diploma might want to do this new qualification, but it is not essential as they will still be eligible to belong to the SAVA scheme and lodge Home Condition Surveys. However, we recognise that some might want to up skill and we plan to offer training and assessment on the new energy element to enable those who hold the Dip HI to access the new qualification if they wish to. For those who missed the boat on the Dip HI (either because they did not finish in the time frame or because only now are they thinking about moving forward in their career) this new qualification in full will give them access to the SAVA HCS scheme.
The Diploma in Residential Surveying and Valuation (Dip R Surv & Valn) has four units common to the Dip R Surv and has an additional two units that cover valuation. We are delighted to be able to report that candidates who take this qualification will have direct entry to AssocRICS, providing they have two years relevant experience and subject to taking an Ethics module delivered by the RICS (all AssocRICS applicants have to complete this.)
The Dip R Surv is a level 6 qualification and is estimated to be the same amount of work as the Diploma in Home Inspection. For someone who already holds the HI qualification, is active as a surveyor (not just as an energy assessor) and wants to gain the Dip R Surv and Valuation, we anticipate about 6 months hard graft to achieve the valuation units, plus the new energy element. The best analogy is that the Dip R Surv is the equivalent of a degree and the additional valuation units the equivalent of a Masters.
It is likely that we will ‘parcel up’ both the learning and assessment into chunks or ‘modules’ to give as many people as possible access to these new qualifications. We hope to start selling modules of training and assessment in the New Year, with a view to delivering in March/April time.
As far as costs are concerned we still have a lot of work to do on the development of both the training and the assessment modules so lots of the costs remain uncertain. As an indication, we anticipate fees similar to those of the Fast Track course, £8k, for the Dip R Surv as a new entrant For a Home Inspector looking to just upgrade to the new qualification then we anticipate fees along the lines of a few days CPD. For a Home Inspector wishing to complete the Dip R Surv and Valuation we anticipate fees similar to that of a masters course, certainly more than the current DEA qualification.
Unfortunately at this stage we are not able to be more specific, there are still so many unknowns, but we are very excited about the possibilities that these new qualifications will offer both to our existing surveyors and also to new surveyors wanting to work in the residential sector.
Please help us design the right framework by doing our quick survey found here.