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

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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

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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

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This episode includes discussion of suicide and difficult experiences from Dan's childhood. Please take care while listening, particularly if these subjects may be difficult for you.

What happens when a difficult past becomes part of what makes you better at surveying?

Dan Knowles, founder and managing director of Websters Surveyors, shares the very unconventional path that brought him into surveying, from growing up in difficult circumstances and experiencing homelessness to building a growing residential surveying firm. He also opens up about aphantasia, the way it shapes how he thinks and works, and why he sees it as a “secret power”. We then get into AI, automation and the future of surveying, including how Websters is using technology to cut repetitive admin while keeping professional judgement firmly in the hands of surveyors.

A very honest conversation about resilience, surveying, AI and building a firm without losing sight of quality.

What We Cover

• Dan's route from a law degree into surveying
• His move from commercial to residential surveying
• The human side of residential property work
• Childhood, homelessness and resilience
• Aphantasia and how it affects memory and visualisation
• Designing information around the client journey
• AI and automation within a surveying firm
• APIs, desktop research and property data
• The limits of AI when assessing property defects
• AI-generated questions from clients
• How people are increasingly using AI to find surveyors
• Recruitment, training and building a strong surveying culture

Guest Links

• Dan Knowles - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-knowles-frics-821bbb22/
• Websters Surveyors - https://websterssurveyors.co.uk/

Useful Links

• Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org/

Guest Bio

Dan Knowles is the founder and managing director of Websters Surveyors. He is a chartered surveyor, RICS registered valuer and RICS expert panel member, with a career spanning commercial and residential surveying. After initially qualifying as a commercial surveyor, Dan moved into residential surveying and has since built Websters Surveyors into a growing firm working across residential surveys, valuations, leasehold reform and compulsory purchase work. He is particularly interested in technology and innovation, and has developed a range of AI and automation tools within the business to reduce repetitive administration and improve the client journey. Dan is also passionate about training, company culture and maintaining quality as the firm grows.

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

Get it wrong on someone's home, and there's no cheque big enough to fix it. That's the highest duty of care in the profession, says Richard Ballam, a chartered surveyor and owner of Rickards Oliver in Manchester.

He talks Nina Young through his own unlikely route into surveying, a failed career in chemistry, a life-changing fall from a ladder, and a mortgage report that worked out at £400 a word.

The conversation also covers the realities of running an independent firm, the corporate versus independent debate, and where AI fits into report writing today. Richard opens up on the human side of the job too, from difficult repossessions to sitting with clients over a cup of tea, and why he believes the next generation of surveyors are just as sharp as ever.

What We Cover

• From chemistry and a PhD to becoming a chartered surveyor
• Discovering surveying through mortgage valuation reports
• Starting and running an independent surveying firm
• The difference between corporate and independent surveying
• Training, mentoring and learning from other surveyors
• AI and the changing way clients read and analyse survey reports
• Using AI to support site note collection
• The importance of professional judgement and accountability
• Remote working and the loss of informal knowledge sharing
• The future of residential surveying and diversity in the profession
• Manchester, regional development and the RICS North West Board
• Technology and what’s exciting in surveying

Guest Links

• Richard Ballam - ttps://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-ballam-frics/
• Rickards Oliver -https://rosurveyors.co.uk/

Useful Links

• RICS North West Board: https://www.rics.org/about-rics/where-we-are/uk-and-ireland/rics-in-north-west
• RICS and Alliance Manchester Business School Launch - https://www.rics.org/training-events/networking-events/rics-north-west-and-alliance-manchester-business-school-partnership-launch

Guest Bio

Richard Ballam is a chartered surveyor and valuer and the owner and director of Rickards Oliver, an independent surveying firm based in Manchester covering primarily the North West. Richard has worked across both corporate and independent surveying and brings more than 25 years of experience to his work. His background is unusual, having originally studied chemistry and started a PhD before moving into surveying. He is also involved with the RICS North West Board, where he is focused on reconnecting with local membership, CPD and links with the wider business and academic community. His interests include residential surveying, professional practice, technology and the practical use of AI and drones within surveying.

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

This episode is sponsored by Rebuild Cost UK, specialists in reinstatement cost assessments for RICS-compliant reporting. Find out more at https://rebuildcost.uk/

When a profession starts turning on itself, what does it take to rebuild trust, strengthen standards and shape a better future?

This is the second part of Nina Young’s conversation with chartered surveyor and Westmarq technical manager Jony Milner. They tackle some uncomfortable questions about social media, criticism, competency and professional credentials, as well as whether greater collaboration could help move the industry forward.

Nina and Jony also explore independent versus corporate surveying, templates and AI, the Home Survey Standard V2, seller surveys, chartered status, professional identity and diversity.

What We Cover

• Toxic culture, social media and the Alan Pattner Effect
• Why surveyors are so quick to criticise each other
• Disciplinary cases, outrage and the importance of due process
• Independent vs corporate surveyors
• Why local authority surveying deserves more attention
• Does more property exposure mean more experience?
• Templates, AI and territorial turf wars
• Why surveying needs more collaboration
• Home Survey Standard V2: what is the holdup?
• Will seller surveys actually happen?
• FRICS, chartered status and protecting professional value
• Competence, experience and the value of professional credentials
• Diversity, visibility and the future of surveying

This is the continuation of the conversation from Part 1. If you haven't watched Part 1 yet, go back and start there for the discussion on AI, the future of residential surveying, changing survey reports and whether technology could eventually transform the role of the surveyor.

Guest Links

• Jony Milner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jony-m-b225b146/
• Legal & General Surveying Services: https://www.legalandgeneral.com/surveying-services/

Useful Links

• RICS: https://www.rics.org/
• CABE: https://cbuilde.com/
• RPSA: https://www.rpsa.org.uk/
• CIOB: https://www.ciob.org/
• Alan Pattner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-pattner-856564423/

Guest Bio

Jony Milner is a chartered surveyor, residential surveyor and valuer, and technical manager at Legal & General Surveying Services. He has worked in and around surveying for nearly 30 years, with experience across corporate surveying, private practice, local authorities and panel management. His career spans residential surveying and valuation, building surveying, retrofit work, risk management and professional standards. Jony is particularly interested in how the profession can adapt to technological change, improve collaboration, and think differently about the future of surveying.

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

This episode is sponsored by Rebuild Cost UK, specialists in reinstatement cost assessments for RICS-compliant reporting. Find out more at https://rebuildcost.uk/

What happens when we stop asking how AI can make surveying quicker and start asking whether residential surveying needs to be reinvented altogether?

Nina Young talks to chartered surveyor and Westmarq technical manager Jony Milner about AI, the future of residential surveying, professional bodies, and industry culture.

In Part 1, the conversation focuses on the future of residential surveying and what AI could mean for the profession. Is the residential surveyor really dying? Could AI eventually become better than the human surveyor? And could a typical three-bedroom semi eventually survey itself?

Nina and Jony also explore whether the traditional survey report needs to be rethought, whether property surveys could become living digital records, whether surveyors could become the human interface for AI, and what surveying can learn from other industries.

What We Cover

• Meet Jony Milner and his route into surveying
• Why surveying needs more voices
• From aspiring film director to residential surveyor
• Is the residential surveyor really dying?
• AI, productivity and the future of surveying
• Could seller surveys help tackle the skills shortage?
• Why the survey report may need to change
• Could property surveys become living digital records?
• Will surveyors become the human interface for AI?
• Who takes responsibility when AI does the work?
• Could AI become better than the human surveyor?
• Could a house eventually survey itself?
• What surveying can learn from other industries

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Stay tuned for Part 2, where Nina and Jony explore toxic culture, social media, professional bodies, collaboration, competency, chartered status and the future of the profession.

Guest Links

• Jony Milner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jony-m-b225b146/
• Legal & General Surveying Services: https://www.legalandgeneral.com/surveying-services/

Useful Links

• RICS: https://www.rics.org/
• CABE: https://cbuilde.com/
• RPSA: https://www.rpsa.org.uk/
• CIOB: https://www.ciob.org/

Guest Bio Jony Milner is a chartered surveyor, residential surveyor and valuer, and technical manager at Legal & General Surveying Services. He has worked in and around surveying for nearly 30 years, with experience across corporate surveying, private practice, local authorities and panel management. His career spans residential surveying and valuation, building surveying, retrofit work, risk management and professional standards. Jony is particularly interested in how the profession can adapt to technological change, improve collaboration, and think differently about the future of surveying.

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

This episode is sponsored by Rebuild Cost UK, specialists in reinstatement cost assessments for RICS-compliant reporting. Find out more at https://rebuildcost.uk/

Artificial intelligence is changing the surveying profession, but what does it mean for professional indemnity insurance and risk?

In this episode, Nina Young speaks with Nick Rains from Howden Insurance Brokers about how AI is reshaping the insurance landscape. They discuss how AI is making it easier for complaints and formal claims to be generated, along with the importance of AI governance, professional indemnity insurance, and clear policies as AI becomes part of everyday practice.

This conversation offers practical insights to help surveyors and firms understand the risks, opportunities, and responsibilities that come with adopting AI.


What We Cover

• Professional indemnity insurance explained
• AI-generated complaints and claims
• Why surveyors are seeing more client queries
• How insurers assess AI risk
• AI governance and compliance
• Shadow AI within surveying firms
• Graduate skills and future recruitment
• AI as a quality checking tool
• Risk management and record keeping
• The future of AI within surveying
  
  

Guest Links

Howden Insurance Brokers – https://www.howdengroup.com/uk-en

Guest Bio

Nick Rains is Senior Contract and Wordings Executive at Howden Insurance Brokers. He advises surveyors, architects, engineers and other construction professionals on professional indemnity insurance, contractual risk and policy wordings. Alongside his insurance expertise, Nick has developed a strong interest in artificial intelligence and its impact on professional practice, governance and risk management across the built environment.

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