Traditionally, education has involved experts passing on what they have learned to the next generation, so the Survey Spain team is delighted currently to be joined by our two APC graduates.
APC stands for Assessment of Professional Competence and is a requirement of eventual membership of RICS (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors). Each trainee must choose from a selection of core, optional and technical specialities depending on their interests and what they feel might be most useful for their future career.
Survey Spain’s first APC student, Xan Varmuza, was educated at Eton, after which he graduated from the University of St. Andrew’s with an MA in History before completing the RICS accredited MSc International Real Estate course at Oxford Brookes University. Xan has chosen to focus on Residential Property Practice with his mandatory specialities including Valuation, Measurement of Land and Property and Inspection. His optional specialities include Building Pathology, Landlord and Tenant and Property Management. With his father, he is currently developing a 40-bedroom health retreat hotel near Gaucín in Southern Spain. In his spare time (which is currently in short supply) he enjoys playing tennis and golf.
Our other student, Dave Jackson, is from Glasgow and holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Real Estate Management from Heriot Watt University. He has chosen to study Building Pathology, Inspection, Measurement of Land and Property and Valuation as his core specialities, with Landlord and Tenant, Leasing and Letting and Purchase and Sale as his optional specialities: Analysis of Client Requirements will be his technical speciality. Dave’s hobbies are hill walking, football and fishing, and he is also hoping to try his hand at kite-surfing.
Dave and Xan, individually, have travelled in Europe, Asia and Australia/NZ. Their love of Spain is obvious with it being the perfect place to live, work and play.
While technology continues to advance, rendering more and more human functions obsolete, the Chartered Surveyor will always be in demand in providing reassurance to clients buying and owning property. No computer programme or gadget can replace the practiced eye of a fully trained, RICS accredited professional.
