As we welcome this year’s International Women’s Day, graduate Surveyor Charlotte Williams would like to urge schools to do more to make young women aware of the existence of surveying as a career path.

“The only careers advice I was given at school was to be a plumber,” said Charlotte, who is completing her training at national property consultancy Bruton Knowles in Guildford. “I’d like to see more schools inviting surveyors to careers sessions. Engaging with young people, especially girls, during their A-Level years would help them make informed decisions about their future. We also need to be more vocal about the profession ourselves as it isn’t well understood by those outside of the industry.”

Surveyors Irene Martin and Evelyn Perry became pioneers of their profession in the 1920s when women were first permitted to qualify as surveyors. Currently, 26% of women enrol as trainee surveyors and make up 14% of the membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

“People would be surprised just how often a surveyor is involved in things they engage with in everyday life,” added Charlotte. “Surveying is a wide-ranging profession covering a large number of different areas from land and property to national infrastructure projects. Housing and assets always need to be valued, business parks don’t manage themselves, pipelines and roads need to be built.”

Charlotte is a University of York Environmental Sciences alumnus who has worked over the past 18 months with key clients such as Surrey Police, Morrison Utility Services, Southern Water, Network Rail, Kent County Council and private management clients. Her goal is to qualify as a commercial surveyor this autumn and move further into Compulsory Purchase Order surveying, access and rights work and rural valuations.

If you are interested in finding out more about what a career in surveying involves, please visit this website: https://www.rics.org/uk/.