RICS Calls For Action To Prepare For The Future Of The Profession

HONG KONG, April 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The new RICS report, entitled "Our changing world: Let's be ready" identifies the key drivers and trends that will have a significant social and economic impact on the world. RICS leads the industry to face the challenges and opportunities opened by these new global changes.

The report indicates that over the next 15 years, major shifts in eight key areas will greatly affect the land and built environment sector. This includes: Greater urbanisation and changing demographics, the shifting economic power to emerging markets, a growing middle class and increased consumption, inequality and instability, a change in business models and practices, a greater adoption of technology, and the unlocking of the potential of big data.

While the full impact of these changes is impossible to predict, RICS as a global professional body must lead the sector in being responsive and agile in how it prepares the profession to meet these changes. 

This report draws on the views and perspectives of stakeholders from diverse specialisms and geographies across the surveying profession, globally. It captures the insights and expectations of what they project the most pertinent issues on the horizon will be leading to 2030. Through workshops, public forums and one-on-one interviews, more than 400 people from Asia, North America, South America, Europe and Africa shared their outlook of what the future may look like. The report identifies 6 areas of action geared to the short to medium term that will support the profession and the sector in preparing for the challenges and opportunities these changes will generate. These actions include:

Action Area #1: Helping our sector win the war for talent

Employers globally are faced with the need to maintain, and retain, a talent pool that is more diverse, inclusive and has the skills required to benefit the sector. A key endeavour is to attract talent that will meet the sector's needs.    

Action Area #2: Having ethics at the heart of everything we do

Ethics is central to professional behaviour within the built environment and related professions. RICS is currently working with a coalition of organisations to agree on a global set of International Ethics Standards (IES) that seeks to create high-level principles for global ethics. We are also working with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) to formulate best practices for business within the sector to meet global sustainability targets.

Action Area #3: Creating successful and sustainable future cities

At present 54% of the world's population lives in cities. This is expected to rise to 66% by 2050, according to projections by the United Nations. The profession has an important contribution to make in helping cities ensure that they become more resilient, sustainable and affordable for future generations.

Action Area #4: Embracing technology and big data

Changing technologies and the ability to stay attuned to new innovations that impact on the sector, are some of the important trends identified by professionals interviewed for this report. Development in digital technologies will impact on the creation of new business streams, the need for different skills and competencies and bring new risks with it.

Action Area #5: Helping the surveying profession take new opportunities

The major social and economic changes we expect over the next few years will mean that surveyors, globally, will be required to adapt and hone their skills. The goal is to create a more dynamic profession with the ability to respond to market changes and the wider society in which it operates. We expect fields such as infrastructure, workplace, finance and technology to require more professionals, and for Asia to be the region with the strongest demand.

Action Area #6: Developing strong leadership

Leadership is another issue professionals have themselves chosen as one that is central to an evolving profession. Many highlighted the need for the sector to work closer with governments to give the built environment a greater voice in influencing policy. 

This report aims to identify the implications of rapid change for the built environment sector and aims to stimulate debate among practitioners in this sector and beyond. While this research report has been undertaken by RICS, Chief Executive Officer, Sean Tompkins says the insights gathered apply to other sectors as well.

"As a body that represents many of the professional disciplines so integral to the built environment, RICS can play an important role as a catalyst to bring people and organisations together, support businesses and ensure professionals in the built environment develop and further build on the skills needed to remain relevant in the future. We recognise that we cannot not achieve this alone, it's about collaboration – this report is an open invitation for firms, organisations and individuals who want to help ensure our sector is fit for future generations."[RICS, Chief Executive Officer, Sean Tompkins]

The report's author and RICS Director of Strategy, Dan Cook says that the changes that the sector faces means surveyors globally will have to adapt their methods to stay relevant to the profession and society at large.

"The thing that has struck me during this work is the fast pace of change that we are seeing. Our sector will need to invest more in its people and new skills. Boosting leadership, innovation, ethics, sustainability and commercial acumen will help our sector be able to adapt and succeed as business models, technology and societal expectations change. With the rise in use of tools such as Building Information Modelling increasing our capacity to collect and share data, new technology emerging in both our built and natural environments such as the Internet of Things and 3D printing, standing still is not an option. Professions like ours, educators and firms will need to change to embrace roles and skills that have not even been imagined today in the period to 2030." [RICS Director of Strategy, Dan Cook]

RICS regularly engages industry leaders to explore and consolidate recommendations for the future development of the built environment sector. To be held again in May this year, the RICS Hong Kong Annual Conference will invite c-suite business leaders, senior government officials, and well respected international speakers to discuss the future for sustainable development in Hong Kong. A career advice session will also be conducted in tandem with the Conference, which will reach out and welcome young professionals looking to enter into the real-estate industry. The Conference aims to provide an opportunity for networking between senior business leaders and government officials, and to encourage an open exchange of innovative ideas. RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards of the industry, provides education and training standards for professionals, and advises governments and businesses on relevant issues.

Download: Read the Report: Our Changing World: Let's be ready

About RICS

Confidence through Professional Standards

RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards -- bringing confidence to the markets we serve.

We accredit 118,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. Their expertise covers property, asset valuation, real estate management; the development of infrastructure; and the management of natural resources, such as mining, farms and woodland. From environmental assessments and building controls to negotiating land rights in an emerging economy; if our members are involved the same professional standards and ethics apply.

We believe that standards underpin effective markets. With up to seventy per cent of the world's wealth bound up in land and real estate, our sector is vital to economic development, helping to support stable, sustainable investment and growth around the globe.

With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.

We are proud of our reputation and work hard to protect it, so clients who work with an RICS professional can have confidence in the quality and ethics of the services they receive.

About RICS Asia

RICS Asia supports a network of over 20,000 individual professionals across the Asia region with an objective to help develop the land, property and construction markets in these countries, by introducing professional standards, best practice education and training. We promote RICS and our members as the natural advisors on all property matters. We also ensure that services and career development opportunities are provided to members.

RICS Asia region serves local member associations locating in Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The People's Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan and South Korea. It also has members working across the region such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos PDR, Macao SAR, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, The Maldives, The Philippines, Timor East and Vietnam. For more information, please visit: www.ricsasia.org.

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