A decision to give up working in residential property and train for a new career in commercial property has culminated in chartered surveyor status being achieved by Jerome Solomon, of the Project & Building Consultancy department at the Birmingham office of Colliers International.
Jerome is one of eleven Colliers International graduates who recently passed the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Assessment of Professional Competence (APC).
His first degree was in Business and Marketing at De Montfort University, and he worked in a management role for some years before moving into residential property, undertaking several roles at a leading national residential sales and lettings company. During this period, he engaged with a number of building surveyors and his discussions with them, together with his own professional passions and interests, contributed to him deciding to transition into surveying.
Jerome then studied for an MSc in Building Surveying at Birmingham City University, which he completed in 2017. By this time he knew he wanted to pursue a career in commercial property, and he started working at the Birmingham office of global real estate advisor Colliers International in September 2017.
He said: “I am pleased to have passed my APC and to have completed this chapter of my surveying career. I am grateful for the help and support provided by Colliers and my team in the Birmingham office to get to this point.
“I’m now looking forward to continuing my development as a building surveyor and also to helping in the development of the next generation of surveyors.”
James Cubitt, head of the Birmingham office of Colliers International, added. “Jerome passing the APC is a fantastic achievement. The crunch point of his training coincided with the turbulence due to coronavirus and a period of remote working, which makes his achievement even more impressive.
“I am convinced that this is the first step in a long and successful career for Jerome. Whilst market conditions are currently tough, we at Colliers remain committed to providing opportunities for graduates and are focussed on providing the right training and support.”
The way in which Jerome and the other successful Colliers International graduates achieved APC success during the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 crisis has been praised by Tony Horrell, Chief Executive Officer of Colliers International for UK and Ireland, who said: “This is a huge achievement and a testament to their hard work – even more so given the different circumstances under which they took their assessment.
“At Colliers, we encourage our people to do their best work every day, and as part of this we place great importance upon professional standards.
“The success of our graduates reflects the way in which they have embraced this ethos, and have made the most of the opportunities available to them through our APC training programme. It also highlights the support that they have received from their colleagues during their APC journeys.”