Next Scottish Government’s ambitions will be impossible to deliver unless it prioritises skills and rebuilds workforce capacity, says RICS

RICS launches Scotland Manifesto – Surveying Scotland with the Scottish Budget on the horizon

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, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) as it launches its Scotland Manifesto – Surveying Scotland, today.

The manifesto - launched ahead of the publication of the Scottish Budget - highlights that chronic shortages of skilled professionals, particularly surveyors, are already constraining housing delivery, infrastructure investment, and large-scale decarbonisation, and that urgent action to rebuild workforce capacity and support the next generation of built environment professionals is essential.

Skills Development Scotland predicts that the construction sector in Scotland needs at least 10,000 more jobs created by 2028 in order to meet the needs of the industry.

To help address skills shortages and ensure a highly skilled workforce, the RICS Manifesto, amongst other things, calls on the Scottish Government to provide fully-funded apprenticeship training for all SME-employed apprentices aged under 25 (aligning with the UK commitment).

It is also calling for an urgent review of building surveying and commercial valuation course provision across Scotland and a review of Scottish government funding provision for higher education to tie funding for courses in with Scotland’s economic needs and employability ratings, rather than focusing heavily on student numbers on courses.

More broadly, RICS says that tough decisions will have to be made across a range of areas if the next Scottish government is to tackle the housing emergency, deliver critical infrastructure, and achieve net zero.

To deliver on climate ambitions, the manifesto calls for a joined-up approach to retrofitting homes, including clear quality assurance frameworks to ensure work meets high standards, expert guidance and professional regulation for homeowners, and robust monitoring to prevent poor installations. RICS also urges the next Government to take a strategic, long-term view by establishing a Ministerial Oversight Group on retrofit and introducing 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.

RICS President Nick Maclean OBE RD FRICS, said: “The publication of the RICS Scotland Manifesto highlights the vital role our members play in shaping Scotland’s built and natural environment. From housing delivery to land management and the transition to net zero, RICS professionals bring the expertise and standards needed to deliver lasting change. The manifesto offers a clear platform to inform party policies ahead of the budget and election, and we look forward to working with them to secure a fair, sustainable and prosperous future for Scotland.”

Robert Toomey, Senior Public Affairs Manager at RICS said: “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.”

RICS members provide the technical expertise and regulatory assurance that underpin everything from accelerating affordable housing supply to maintaining resilient transport networks and enabling low-carbon infrastructure.