RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) is launching its Scotland manifesto, in which the organisation claims the next Scottish Government’s ambitions on housing supply and climate action will be impossible to deliver unless it prioritises skills and works with industry to rebuild workforce capacity.
The Surveying Scotland manifesto – unveiled ahead of the publication of the Scottish budget this week – highlights that ‘chronic’ shortages of skilled professionals, particularly surveyors, are already constraining housing delivery, infrastructure investment, and large-scale decarbonisation.
Skills Development Scotland predicts the construction sector north of the border needs at least 10,000 more jobs created by 2028 to meet industry needs.
The RICS manifesto calls on the Scottish Government to align with the UK commitment to provide fully-funded apprenticeship training for all SME-employed apprentices aged under 25. It is also calling for an urgent review of building surveying and commercial valuation course provision and a review of Scottish Government funding provision for higher education to tie funding for courses in with economic needs and employability ratings, rather than focusing heavily on student numbers on courses.
To deliver on climate ambitions, the manifesto recommends a joined-up approach to retrofitting homes, including clear quality assurance frameworks, expert guidance and professional regulation for homeowners, and ‘robust’ monitoring to prevent poor installations. RICS also wants to see a ministerial oversight group on retrofit to be established and legislation to measure and report embodied carbon in line with RICS’ Whole Life Carbon Standard.
To tackle the housing emergency, RICS advocates for better coordination of housing functions, the creation of a housing land agency, a presumption in favour of modern methods of construction for social housing, and ensuring all local development plans are up to date.
Professor Norman McLennan, FRICS, FCICES, RICS Scotland board chair, said, “Scotland faces a growing skills crisis across the built environment, with shortages in surveying now threatening the delivery of housing, net zero and effective land management. Surveyors are essential to turning political ambition into reality, yet the workforce is under real strain. Unless the next government prioritises skills and works with industry to rebuild capacity, its ambitions on housing supply, climate action and sustainable communities will simply be impossible to deliver.”
Robert Toomey, senior public affairs manager at RICS, added, “The next government will govern at a pivotal moment for the built environment in Scotland, with the budget playing a decisive role in what can realistically be delivered. From tackling the housing emergency to delivering energy security through investment in vital infrastructure, funding decisions taken in the coming term will shape Scotland for generations.”
