The surveying field is still a largely male dominated profession, with only 15% active working female RICS members.
SDL are proud to have increased its proportion of female surveyors to 20% in 2022, surpassing the industry average for the first time, with a further 45% of its senior leaders in the business overall being female.

As a business we’re committed to the growth and development of our people and offer a range of courses and progression routes to help our team reach their full potential, from our structured APC training programme to the scholarship places we have available in our Sava learner’s programme. We are incredibly proud to be part of the Sava learners programme which has assisted many of our employees who have entered the business on the operational side to have access into the surveying profession outside of the traditional pathways by providing scholarship positions that run alongside their salaried positions.

One such position went to a member of our audit team, Zara Ellerby, who has just received her AssocRICS qualification:

“During the last 4 years working for SDL I have been provided with the resources, experience and support I needed to not only be successful during my studies but also to encourage me to excel within my career. Opportunities were provided off the back of hard work to develop and enhance my career, which is the reason why SDL appealed to me as an employer at the very beginning. The SDL Academy facilitated one-to-one training with a diverse group of people to include mentorship out in the field and this level of support is one of the reasons why I have been successful in securing my AssocRICS qualification.”

And the support doesn’t stop there!

After our Sava students achieve their qualifications, we continue their learning and mentorship through our post-qualification training programme helping them out with ‘in-the-field’ training on surveys and mortgage valuations.

Lauren Wilson, one of our area surveyors, is a brilliant example of one of the students who came up through the Sava programme and has gone on to be an exemplary member of our staff surveying team:

“Since being on the road as a surveyor the support and encouragement from SDL has grown and continues to surprise me, they always have time for me and my continued learning which is rare for a company this big. SDL is a company that will back their employees and be the helping hand that is needed when starting a new career/role.”

While female representation in the surveying field is increasing, few of these female representatives account for senior positions in the profession, and we are therefore dedicated to offer support for continued progression.

A great example of senior leadership within the company is our Senior Regional Managing Surveyor, Sirah Parkes, who last year achieved her FRICS status, one of the highest honours within the profession:

“We are a very inclusive open business, I’ve worked in this industry for some of our main competitors as well as in corporate and private practice for 25 years, it has been at times a tough journey, particularly as a parent when my kids were younger… I experienced obstacles as a female in a very male dominated industry, there weren’t many women to speak to back then and I only worked with women in the admin roles, but I had to succeed for my future self. I am now a Fellow of the RICS, and I look back at all those years and realise that you should always aspire and speak to those that you see as role models, they may not be in the job you want but speak to those who have done it. We as a business have been there and done it, lots of us have worked and progressed through hard work and support from SDL. I have thrived best whilst with SDL over the past 11 years.”

If you’re interested in finding out more about SDL Surveying and how we can support you in your career, get in contact: [email protected]