Episodes
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
“Don’t be afraid to push yourself and put yourself out of your comfort zone” is just one piece of advice Rider Levett Bucknall’s Carolyn Brady has for developing a career in the sector.
In a wide-ranging discussion with Bricks & Mortar host Sarah Jackman, Carolyn reflects on her journey in surveying, what it means to win the RICS Matrics Surveyor of the Year award and why it is important to give back to the industry that she loves.
She also discusses her work as a STEM ambassador and the joy of opening young people’s eyes to the possibility of a career in the sector.
Thursday Jul 16, 2020
Thursday Jul 16, 2020
This week’s episode of Bricks & Mortar sees Sarah Jackman catch up with Lucy Winzer – head of acquisition at Pret a Manger.
After undertaking a work experience placement at a property firm aged 16, Lucy “fell in love” with real estate and “realised that was definitely the route that I wanted to take.” Through the Chartered Surveyors Training Trust, she found an apprenticeship at a local firm, where she was given a range of responsibility and in 2009 – following the financial crash – graduated from the University College of Estate Management with her diploma in surveying practice.
A further five years working at property firms followed, during which time she gained her BSc in real estate – again via UCEM. In 2014 she joined Pret a Manger and, in so doing, adopted an occupier’s perspective. “It’s such a dynamic way of working and one that I absolutely love.”
She reflects on what it was like to graduate at the height of the last recession, the effect on her peer group and what the graduates of 2020 can do to increase their profile and reach. “Be dynamic. Go out there and see who you can help, so that we can all weather the storm and get through it together.”
Monday Feb 03, 2020
Bricks & Mortar: The importance of presentation skills
Monday Feb 03, 2020
Monday Feb 03, 2020
The need for strong presentation skills isn't just confined to formal presentations, but to a range of scenarios. Telephone calls, emails and internal meetings, for example, all require them in order to make a positive and lasting impression.
Its important to hone these skills early in your career, according to Alice Dockar - a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills who is also the firm's training principal. She talks to Sarah Jackman about the need to prepare, to know how to sell yourself and to build internal and external networks.
Monday Feb 17, 2020
Bricks & Mortar: How to interpret a judgment
Monday Feb 17, 2020
Monday Feb 17, 2020
This week’s episode of Bricks & Mortar sees Sarah Jackman joined in the EG studio by her colleague on the legal & professional desk: Jess Harrold. Amongst his many skills, Jess is a seasoned court reporter, having spent numerous years covering the courts for both the EG and other news organisations.
He lifts the lid on how best to approach a judgment, where its key information is contained and how, with a bit of practice, you can make light work of getting to grips with a lengthy report. Jess guides listeners through the process by making reference to a case currently under appeal: Fearn v The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2019] EWHC 246 (Ch). To reference it while listening, download a copy at: https://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/format.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2019/246.html&query=(title:(+fearn+))
Monday Mar 02, 2020
Bricks & Mortar: Max Middlebrook on life as real estate undergraduate
Monday Mar 02, 2020
Monday Mar 02, 2020
This week's episode of Bricks & Mortar sees Sarah Jackman joined by Max Middlebrook - a first year student at Nottingham Trent University studying for a BSc in Property Development and Planning.
Tune in to find out what piqued Max's interest in a career in property, how he's finding life as a real estate undergraduate, and what his aspirations are for his future career.
As part of that conversation, he reflects on the challenges facing the industry, what he hopes his generation can bring to it, as well as giving advice to all those thinking of a career in it.
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
Thursday Apr 16, 2020
The effect of the coronavirus outbreak on GCSE and A-level examinations has been well documented, but how is Covid-19 affecting undergraduate and post-graduate real estate courses?
Paul Collins – a senior lecturer in the school of architecture, design and the built environment at Nottingham Trent University – joins EG’s professional & legal editor, Sarah Jackman, to discuss how they’re currently delivering their teaching, how students are adapting, what the likely effect will be on 2020 and 2021 admissions and whether those that have a scheduled year-out in industry in 2020 are still planning to go ahead.
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Olly Roberts’s final year as a BSc Real Estate student at Reading University changed quite substantially with the announcement of the nationwide lockdown. His campus closed, teaching moved online and a new method of final assessment was adopted.
Here he joins EG’s professional & legal editor Sarah Jackman to discuss how he’s adapting to those changes and whether the current situation will have a bearing on taking up his new job in the industry in September.
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Bricks & Mortar: The basics of the court process
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
The court process can be bewildering, costly and adversarial, but it can also provide closure and legal precedent. But where do claims start and how can claimants expect them to progress?
To answer these, and other questions on the basics of the court process, EG's professional & legal editor, Sarah Jackman is joined by Paul Tonkin, a partner in the real estate disputes team at Hogan Lovells.
He discusses the tiers of court operating in England, which court is suited to which type of claim, the timeframes involved in litigating and the governing legislation.
Tuesday May 12, 2020
Bricks & Mortar: APC study and assessment during lockdown – what’s different?
Tuesday May 12, 2020
Tuesday May 12, 2020
In this week’s episode of Bricks & Mortar, EG’s Sarah Jackman is joined (virtually) by Jen Lemen – co-founder of Property Elite – for a look at how APC candidates should proceed in the current climate.
With the RICS having temporarily moved its assessments online, there are positives to be drawn, including, says Lemen “the ability for candidates to control their assessment in terms of external variables. Things like the stress of being in an assessment centre; travelling and potentially needing to stay overnight; being able to manage nerves better and being in a familiar environment might give a lot of candidates a confidence boost.”
But what happens if a candidate doesn’t have good internet connectivity or a good home working environment in which to take the exam remotely? Lemen talks through the options for deferral, as well as giving advice to those who have been furloughed or made redundant part way through the process. She rounds off with her top tips for anyone currently preparing for APC assessment, including keeping in touch with established support networks, forming a remote study group and planning the all important outfit.
Friday Jun 26, 2020
Bricks & Mortar: APC and the transition to permanent online assessment
Friday Jun 26, 2020
Friday Jun 26, 2020
Following the implementation of the UK lockdown, the RICS acted swiftly to move its session 1 2020 APC assessments online. The experience has been judged a success and the RICS has confirmed that all of its APC assessments will now take place online.
To discuss the change, EG's Sarah Jackman is joined by the RICS's assessment support manager, Gill Quinn and Roy Albert, a lead valuer in the Wales & West Regional Valuation Unit at the Valuation Office Agency, who has recently completed the APC assessment online.
Roy reflects on the experience itself - of overcoming initial anxiety to later benefiting from the availability of the RICS's support mechanisms - and offers practical tips for those preparing for online assessment later in the year.
Gill explains the background to the changes, looks at how they've been received from both an assessor and candidate perspective and highlights the benefits to being assessed using this new format.