Sava Tackles the Skills Shortage and Builds New Surveying Talent.
In October 2025, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) published a report highlighting the growing skills shortage across the surveying profession. The shortage of qualified surveyors is now seen as one of the sector’s most urgent challenges, driven by an ageing workforce, limited new entrants, and rising demand linked to decarbonisation and housing pressures. Many surveyors describe the situation as critical, with clear impacts on cost, capacity, and innovation. RICS Acting President, Nick Maclean FRICS, noted that:
“…a lack of new talent is one of the main reasons behind the skills shortage.”
This is a challenge Sava recognised and began to address more than 10 years ago in the residential side of the profession as the surveying workforce aged, and more professionals retired than entered the industry. It become clear that, as attracting sufficient school leavers into the profession clearly wasn’t working, a new approach was needed – one that would make the profession accessible to a broader, more diverse range of people.
Why Sava Launched Its Surveying Diploma
Sava’s roots lie in innovation within the residential sector. The company originated from Energy Advisory Services, founded by Professor Jake Chapman of the Open University, whose mission was to create a reliable method for assessing the energy performance of homes. The aim was to provide householders with independent, evidence-based advice on improving energy efficiency — and, in doing so, establish the foundations for setting standards and stimulating demand for better-performing, energy-efficient housing.
Fast forward to the late 2000s and as the economy recovered from the 2008 financial crisis it rapidly became clear that there were insufficient residential surveyors and valuers to meet to demand sparked by the recovery. So, Sava began work on the new Diploma in Residential Surveying and Valuation to address the growing skills shortage in surveying head-on. Our goal was simple: to create a new route into the profession for talented individuals who might not otherwise have the opportunity to join, and provide the profession with the skills it needed.
We recognised that many people possess valuable transferable skills – whether from construction, finance, teaching, engineering, the military or even personal interests in property and buildings – that could make them excellent surveyors. However, traditional entry routes, such as university degrees, often excluded those who could not commit to full-time university study.
Launched in 2014, our diploma provides a professional, degree-alternative pathway that is part-time, practical, and highly focused on residential property. Although learners can qualify in as little as 24 months, it’s not a fast-track route; it’s a carefully structured, comprehensive, Ofqual regulated qualification designed for learners juggling work, family, and life commitments.
“Sava provided a window of opportunity into an exciting new career. Without Sava’s residential surveying diploma, there is no other possible way I could have entered the surveying profession. I have too many other commitments to have considered the university route.”
– Daniel Hopla, Sava graduate and Residential Surveyor at Peer | King Surveyors.
“The flexibility of study was crucial for me. With only two physical contact days per month most months, I was able to fit the part-time training around my work and hectic family life. The Sava diploma offered a more accessible route in for someone like me with existing commitments who couldn’t simply drop everything to do a three-to-five-year university degree.”
– Erica Bond, Sava graduate and Residential Surveyor & Valuer at West Country Surveyors Ltd.
Supporting the RICS Vision for a Fairer, Clearer, More Inclusive, and Rigorous Profession
The RICS has said:
“Our goal is to make the process of joining RICS fairer, clearer and more inclusive, while maintaining the necessary rigour of assessment.”
At Sava, we applaud this vision and are pleased to be playing our part in shaping a modern, accessible surveying profession.
Fairer: Opening Doors for Everyone
We believe everyone deserves the chance to build a successful career, regardless of their educational background or the path they’ve taken so far. That’s why the Sava Diploma in Residential Surveying and Valuation is designed to teach the fundamentals of residential surveying from the ground up.
Some learners join with experience in property or construction, while others come from completely different careers — including those who may have been let down by traditional education or made different choices after leaving school. Our structured, supportive programme gives every learner the knowledge and practical skills to become a confident, competent residential surveyor, creating a genuine level playing field and opening the profession to new and diverse talent.
Clearer: A Focused Route into Residential Surveying
The Sava diploma is a professional qualification, specifically designed for the residential sector and aligned with the RICS Residential Survey and Valuation pathway. Developed in close consultation with employers, it focuses on the practical and technical skills that residential surveyors and valuers need in the real world. Unlike broader university degrees, the diploma provides a direct, applied route into the profession, enabling learners to build competence in carrying out condition surveys and valuations. From the outset, learners work towards a clear professional goal, with most progressing to Associate membership of RICS upon completion.
Inclusive: Welcoming Learners from All Walks of Life
The Sava diploma has no formal academic entry requirements, making it accessible to those whose could otherwise be overlooked.
Our learners come from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and with an average age of 38, many are career changers. They include people who have worked in the armed forces, estate agency, retail or trades – individuals who are ready for a new professional challenge.
Our diploma is delivered through blended, part-time learning, allowing people to keep earning while they learn, balance family commitments, and retrain without sacrificing financial stability. It’s a modern training route that makes the profession genuinely accessible and inclusive.
Rigorous: Ensuring Excellence in Every Graduate
Accessibility does not mean lowering standards. The Sava diploma is accredited by the Awarding Body for the Built Environment (ABBE) and regulated by Ofqual, ensuring its quality and credibility.
Our assessment process is robust and comprehensive. We work with some of the best trainers and assessors in the industry – many of whom are practising experts in residential surveying. Regular standardisation exercises ensure fairness and consistency in every learner’s assessment.
The result is a qualification that produces graduates of exceptional calibre – graduates who are fully prepared to uphold the standards expected within the surveying profession.
“We have always been delighted with the candidates that have trained through Sava and joined e.surv. They emerge from the programme with a very high calibre of knowledge and are able to hit the ground running.”
– Claire Martin, Technical Trainer, e.surv Chartered Surveyors.
Creating New Pathways for the Future
Since launching the diploma in 2014, more than 900 individuals have embarked on a new career in residential surveying through Sava.
Our success demonstrates that alternative, accessible and inclusive training models can make a real difference in addressing the skills shortage in surveying. Looking forward, we aim to replicate this model across other surveying disciplines, opening new talent pipelines and supporting the future growth of the surveying sector as a whole.