All RICS APC candidates are required to name a counsellor when they enroll onto their APC.

The role of the counsellor is demanding and time consuming. It includes;

• Advise candidates on the appropriate pathway and competencies selection.
• Identify any competency gaps.
• Agree a training plan with clear outputs and deadlines.
• Guide candidates to select suitable key issues and associated option for their case study.
• Check and proofread draft submission documents
• Guide candidates to amend their documents to meet the expected standards
• Verify that candidates are aware of the RICS best practice and latest legislation.
• Organise Q&A sessions and formal mock interviews
• Sign off candidates’ submission documents

A good counsellor;

• Is available for regular meetings
• Refuses to sign off candidates who are not yet ready
• Can dedicate a couple of days to review submission documents
• Can dedicate a couple of hours to sign candidates off
• Understand the APC requirements in-depth
• Is an active assessor or in contact with active assessors
• Has completed the counsellor training provided by the RICS

If you are a counsellor

If you need to refresh your skills, we can provide you and your colleagues with specialist training which can be recorded as formal CPD. If the time commitment is an issue, you could consider delegating some of your duties to us through our mentoring services.

If you are a candidate

The RICS has a list of APC mentors who have volunteered to donate an hour or two of their time to candidates who need guidance on a specific aspect of their APC preparation. However, you should not expect these volunteers to sacrifice their work and family commitments in order to become your counsellor.

You must have worked on a day-to-day basis alongside a chartered surveyor for at least a year to have gained the required experience in applying the RICS best practice. If there are no chartered surveyor in your current company, you may need to consider alternative employment in order to progress with your APC.

We can provide professional counsellor services under exceptional conditions only. You must;

• Have at least one year work experience in a relevant role alongside a chartered surveyor
• Have responsibility for solving problems in an independent manner.
• Be enrolled in one of our structured training programmes
• Be able to commit substantial time to your APC for a period of 6 to 8 months

Degree Apprenticeship

We regret that we cannot provide any counsellor services to degree apprenticeship candidates as a key element of your APC training plan is to gain the relevant day-to-day work experience alongside a chartered surveyor, which only your employer can provide.

If there are no chartered surveyor in your company, you should discuss with your university link tutor the possibility of changing employer or of transferring to the standard degree on a full-time or part-time (day release) basis.