Is the APC Still Fit for Purpose?

I recently read an article on linkedin discussing the relevance of the APC.

When I sat my APC many years ago, I was working at GVA Grimley (now Avison Young). The process then felt like a marathon of paperwork, diary entries, and nerve-shredding prep. GVA gave us two weeks’ study leave — which was  very generous — but despite that, I didn’t pass. (But then Building Surveying is THE hardest discipline to pass….!)

The final hurdle was the infamous face-to-face interview. Mine took place in a Preston hotel. Candidates lined up nervously in the corridor, each of us waiting to be told when to knock on the door. Inside?

Three male assessors, waiting to grill you. At 22, as a young female surveyor, it was intimidating to say the least!

The questions spanned everything: defect analysis, contract law, general construction, professional practice. But one still makes me laugh (and groan) today: “If you were a partner in a surveying practice and another partner was having an affair with a colleague’s wife, how would you deal with it?” Hardly a scenario I’ve since found in the APC notes — or in real life.

Looking back, I can’t help but ask: was that really a fair test of competence? Or was it simply a test of whether you could survive the ordeal?

Then vs. Now

One thing worth remembering is how much weight passing your APC used to carry. It wasn’t just about five extra letters on your email signature. It often came with a significant pay rise, a bump in status, and sometimes even the keys to a company car. For many, it felt like crossing a line into the next stage of your career you’d “made it.”

Fast forward to today, and I’m not sure the same prestige, recognition, or reward still exists. Yes, the APC is still a necessary milestone, but does it carry the same career-changing significance?

The Candidate’s Reality

The structure of the APC has modernised in some ways. Interviews are now largely virtual, which removes the drama of hotel corridors but introduces its own quirks: clunky tech, awkward silences, and assessors peering over webcams. The process still takes years of diary-keeping, CPD logging, and supervisor sign-offs. It’s hard work, as it should be. But does it genuinely reflect the way surveyors learn and develop on the job?

Take CPD. In theory, it’s a brilliant concept. In practice, it’s become a numbers game: read an article, log an hour; sit through a webinar, tick the box. What’s missing is real reflection: what did you actually learn, and how has it changed your practice? Without that, it feels like another hoop to jump through rather than a tool for growth.

The Value Question

So, where does this leave us? The APC still provides structure and ensures consistent professional standards, and many surveyors credit it with helping them think more critically about their work. But we also need to ask: are the incentives and rewards still adequate for today’s candidates?

When the process takes years of effort evenings, weekends, missed family events shouldn’t the recognition be stronger? Shouldn’t firms treat passing as a major milestone in a surveyor’s career, just as they did in the past?

Because right now, it feels like candidates do the hard yards, but the “prize” at the end is less clear.

Raising the Bar, Not Crawling Under It

The APC doesn’t need to be torn up and started again, but it does need to evolve. Imagine a process with:

• Progressive assessments and feedback, rather than one final showdown.
• Assessors who stay with candidates over time and understand their pathway.
• CPD that values quality and application, not just hours.
• Recognition from firms pay, responsibility, opportunities that reflects the huge effort candidates put in.

The APC should inspire confidence, pride, and professional growth. It should feel like a genuine rite of passage, not a bureaucratic hoop-jumping exercise.

Because in the end, we don’t join this profession to crawl under the bar. We join it to raise it.