COMMENT If we consider the traditional route into real estate, it is somewhat linear. Complete your A-levels, enrol in a surveying or construction degree and join thousands of your peers participating in competitive application processes to secure a graduate role at a commercial real estate firm in order to achieve the holy grail, RICS accreditation.
While this journey is similar to those in other traditional professions such as accountancy and law, real estate has always felt like the outlier when it comes to awareness of the sector. Today, a career in real estate can be achieved via many different paths and, once there, the opportunities abound.
Apprenticeships in our industry are on the rise, making the profession more accessible to those who may not want to – or have access to – a traditional route in. However, there is still work to be done to drive awareness at a younger age.
Spread the word
I had a non-conventional journey into real estate myself, as I shared with EG in its Starting Out in Real Estate guide, so I feel particularly passionate about increasing school outreach and making sure the opportunities reach more people.
Getting into schools across the UK is paramount in connecting young people to the world of work. This allows us to put real estate on the map at an earlier stage, while educating students on how they can enter the industry and train in a different way, the variety of roles available and what they entail on a day-to-day basis. It is also about educating parents, who might not be aware of what a career in real estate offers yet will be influencing their children’s decisions about what to do next.
In recent years there has been more integration of careers and employability skills into school life, but not nearly enough. Is there scope to formalise real estate qualifications at a younger age? Could we see a GCSE in this subject being offered in the future? Here’s to hoping.
Armed with information
At CBRE, we have recently employed four apprentices who came through Career Ready, a national social mobility charity we partner with in Glasgow, Manchester and London to offer young people internships and mentorship.
Beyond that, CBRE works with Success at School, an organisation that partners with more than 4,000 schools across the UK to promote our apprenticeship scheme and a long-term career in real estate. Through this, we host webinars for students, parents and careers advisers to arm them with the necessary information and give them an opportunity to speak to some of our current apprentices about their experiences.
Finally, we have started working with Forage to offer virtual work experience, lifting the lid on what our work really looks like and the variety of roles on offer. I’m excited that next year we will see even more outreach through this partnership.
So, what is my call to action? Educate at the earliest opportunity.
Collectively, we are in the driving seat. The recruitment decisions we make today determine what the real estate sector will look like in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time. These decisions should be driven by potential, not background, and as an industry we must work together to identify challenges and make each other accountable for driving equity in this process.
Ciaran Bird is divisional president of advisory services and chief executive of the UK and Ireland at CBRE
