What is the biggest problem facing surveying right now? It might not be AI. It might be the fact that there simply won’t be enough surveyors to do the work.

Nick Maclean, the 144th President of RICS, joins Nina Young for a candid conversation about the future of the profession, from an ageing workforce and falling graduate numbers to AI, professional judgement and how we train the next generation. If AI takes over the routine work, how do young surveyors build the judgement that only comes with experience?

From education and career pathways to international mobility and the changing role of RICS, Nick shares what needs to change if surveying is going to remain relevant, trusted and ready for what comes next.

What We Cover

• Nick's Royal Navy background and his interest in hydrography
• The role of hydrographic surveying in the future of the profession
• Education, influence and confidence as priorities for RICS
• The ageing workforce and the surveying skills gap
• Why attracting graduates is becoming more challenging
• New RICS pathways and the importance of lifelong learning
• Bringing career changers and people with practical experience into surveying
• AI and anxiety about the future of surveying jobs
• Why professional judgement remains so important
• How young surveyors can develop judgement in an AI-enabled profession
• The RICS AI standard and professional ethics
• Who carries responsibility when professionals use AI
• International mobility and recognition of RICS qualifications
• Making chartership more tangible for members
• Diversity and removing barriers to entering surveying
• The future direction of RICS

Guest Links

• Nick Maclean - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-maclean-obe-rd-frics-irrv-hons-17825a19/
• RICS - https://www.rics.org/

Guest Bio

Nick Maclean is the 144th President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Before taking on the presidency, he spent 37 years at CBRE, where he founded the firm's Middle East business in 2004 from a single Dubai office and helped grow it into a regional operation across six markets. He left CBRE at the end of 2024 to concentrate on his RICS presidency. Nick is Scottish, a Fellow of RICS and the Scottish Government's Trade Envoy to the UAE. He also served in the Royal Navy and spent around 18 years as a Royal Navy reservist, which developed his long-standing interest in hydrography. He was awarded an OBE in 2024 for services to trade and bilateral relations.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn

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I share an honest solo update on what I'm seeing across UK surveying as AI adoption accelerates and the RICS AI standard lands in practice. I dig into the real world impact on enquiries, complaints, risk, and how Surveyors UK is building tools and community support to help surveyors respond with confidence.

• why AI attention spikes this year across surveying and the built environment
• what the RICS AI standard means for everyday practice and evidence
• the rise in long pre instruction queries and the admin burden on SMEs
• clients uploading survey reports into chatbots and the knock on effect on complaints
• a practical approach to de escalating complaints by speaking to clients
• what AI agents are, how they differ from chatbots, and why permissions matter
• shadow AI risks when staff use free tools or vendor software includes AI features
• why claims may follow complaints and why you cannot fix records retrospectively
• how Surveyors UK firm memberships work, including the referral network and directory
• podcast growth, sponsorship options, and how reviews help the show reach more people
• why we care about the profession and how surveyors can be ambassadors

If you enjoy the podcast, could you please provide me some form of review? The easiest thing is just to send me a message on LinkedIn, let me know what you'd like to say about the podcast, if you're happy for me to share it, or send me an email - nina@surveyors-uk.com

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn

Ever thought, “Can’t AI just do this bit for me?”

In this episode of This Is Surveying, Nina Young talks to Will Doyle, former quantity surveyor and founder of Gather, about AI, automation and the changing role of the QS.

Will shares how a site manager used AI to make sense of months of project information in just a few clicks, while they explore poor site records, AI “slop”, professional judgement and why surveyors still need to understand the fundamentals.

If AI takes away more of the repetitive work, what happens to the experience surveyors need to build?

What We Cover

• Will's route into quantity surveying
• His accidental career in rail with Balfour Beatty
• How the QS role has changed
• AI and automation in quantity surveying
• The risks of relying on AI without experience
• Professional judgement and the "judgement paradox"
• Why human skills still matter
• The story behind Gather
• Why good records matter when projects go wrong
• Knowledge, culture and discipline
• AI, data and construction project management
• The future of work in surveying and construction

Guest Links

• Will Doyle - https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-doyle-gather/
• Gather - https://www.gatherinsights.com/

Useful Links

• The AI QS Newsletter - https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-ai-qs-7354050754480906242/

Guest Bio

Will Doyle is a former quantity surveyor and the founder of Gather, a platform focused on helping construction and infrastructure teams capture better project records. Will began his career in rail after studying quantity surveying at Loughborough, working across the UK and internationally before moving into technology and founding Gather. Today, Gather works with organisations across infrastructure, including nuclear, rail, highways, energy and utilities, with thousands of projects using the platform. Will also writes and speaks regularly about AI, quantity surveying, construction technology and how the profession is changing.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn