The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) recently announced that it is piloting two new pathways to chartered membership. These will focus on residential retrofit surveying and sustainability advisory. When they come on stream next year, RICS will have 24 separate pathways to membership. It is a striking contrast with architecture.

For all the changes brought in by the Architects Registration Board (ARB), the profession still clings to a single, undifferentiated qualification: architect. The old Parts 1, 2 and 3 model has been swept aside in favour of a more flexible, competency-based system. This may open the door to those from different backgrounds and with non-cognate degrees, but the end point remains a singular destination. You are either on the register or you are not.

…