RICS CPD Requirements for DEAs and Course Providers

How many hours of CPD does your accreditation scheme require from members?

Domestic Energy Assessors: no minimum - Home Inspectors: 20 hours.

RICS accreditation schemes are open to RICS Members only. Members of RICS are required to comply with the RICS Rules of Conduct for Members which cover such things as integrity, competence, service provision and lifelong learning (LLL). The terms CPD and LLL are broadly interchangeable.

The Rules require Members to "carry out their professional work with due skill, care and diligence and with proper regard for the technical standards expected of them" and "undertake and record appropriate lifelong learning and, upon request, provide RICS with evidence that they have done so.

It is important to think in terms of quality of learning, rather than in points or hours. Spending seven hours in a seminar is of little use if only 30 minutes of that was relevant or useful. Equally, an activity which takes up relatively little time may be very useful in meeting learning needs.

CLG require RICS to ensure that Home Inspectors have performed and recorded 20 hours lifelong learning per year.

Given that all first year DEAs will have spent considerable time training, qualifying and learning on-the-job, do they still need to complete their full CPD quota this year?

Much of the training time spent becoming a DEA will count towards complying with the RICS Rules on LLL. There may however still be areas of their training which members need to enhance or undertake further learning on; at the end of the day, it is up to the individual to decide whether they need to undertake any learning in this area.

Are there any proviso's to be aware of?

RICS considers LLL to include reading articles, personal and informal learning, professional work-based activities, voluntary work as well as more formal courses. Members shouldn't limit themselves to simply attending courses, but should consider other methods of learning which may also be appropriate.

Can your members attend courses given by external third-parties, or must they attend your own in-house offerings?

RICS does not accredit courses and Members are free to choose any courses or learning materials that they deem to be effective. We do not dictate which courses our Members should attend; this should be decided individually, based on their business' and their own learning requirements.

Do CPD courses need to be pre-approved by your scheme to be recognised?

As mentioned above, RICS does not accredit courses.

What guidance can you give to your members as to whether a course is worth attending, and how can they determine how much CPD credit you will award, before attending?

RICS doesn't award credits for attending courses. It is however useful to look at the 'learning outcomes' section (or similar) provided on most course literature to assess whether these fit with individual learning objectives identified.

Are you particularly focused on a particular range of topics DEAs can study, or would you consider periphery subjects like business development, accounting, and internet marketing, for example?

Members should periodically assess their learning needs and plan activities to meet them. Learning will include technical as well as other skills such as business development etc. Members who are accredited with RICS for specific areas of work should normally devote a portion of their annual learning activities to maintaining competence in these areas.

Would you support an open standard amongst accreditation schemes whereby a course acceptable to one, would be acceptable to all?

We do not accredit courses and have no barriers to our Members attending other courses that they deem to be appropriate to enable them to offer higher levels of professionalism and service to their clients. We would welcome a similar approach across accreditation schemes.

LLL is an essential part of being an RICS Member and an important aspect of the new RICS Rules of Conduct which were introduced with effect from June 2007. More information on RICS Regulation.