Innovate, Integrate, Inspire: New CICES president Marek Suchocki outlines his vision

During a BBC interview in September, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Raynor said that there is only a ‘slim chance’ the government’s target to build 1.5 million homes in England is likely to be met by the next election.

The reason for this will comprise a range of factors including rising construction costs, planning constraints, uncertainty over sales potential and global economic impacts.

But the acknowledgement that this target is now unlikely to be achieved can also be attributed to the slow adoption of innovative construction methods and limited process and data integration between planners, developers, contractors and investors.

As I begin my term as CICES president, I am acutely aware of the challenges facing our sector, but also the significant opportunities before us. It is a real privilege to serve the institution at such a pivotal time for the profession.

This is precisely why two of the three themes I have chosen for my CICES presidential term comprise “Innovate” and “Integrate”.

If we're serious about meeting the UK's housing and infrastructure ambitions, innovation and integration must become business as usual rather than being relegated to afterthoughts or considered as unnecessary additional costs or risks.

Inspire

While innovation can transform our industry, technology alone cannot solve arguably one of our biggest challenges: attracting the next generation of civil engineering surveyors. Without fresh talent entering the profession, the skills gap will continue to widen, putting future projects and ambitions at risk.

According to the RICS surveying skills report published in 2025, when considering the surveying disciplines most affected by skills shortages, data shows quantity surveying and construction face the most severe capacity constraints. 

Perhaps the skills shortage can best be attributed to a long standing perception and awareness issue linked to the construction sector.  When I look back at my time as a school leaver in the late 1980s I had little certainty on what I wanted to do next. In fact I visited several universities considering courses in engineering, polymer chemistry and even hotel management to better understand my opportunities and study options. It was the discussion with a tutor about civil engineering and everything it involved that got me interested, and from that point I was sold. 

Up until then, I hadn’t really appreciated the variety of roles that one could do from site based engineering surveying and controls, to office based roles undertaking design work, geospatial mapping or commercial management all with the potential to travel and experience new places.

Which is the reason why the third theme I have chosen for my CICES presidential year is ‘Inspire’.

There is a need to inspire school-aged children, school leavers and even those working in different fields to consider and enter careers in civil engineering surveying

We have much we can celebrate and showcase such as the opportunity to travel, the enjoyment that comes from using innovative technology and equipment, or how rewarding it can be to work on major infrastructure projects that benefit society, work with the natural environment and can deliver positive value for generations to come. Civil engineering surveyors should be proud that they play a vital role across the lifecycle of projects to help them succeed.

As well as demonstrating the variety of roles that exist in this profession, we should also explain the many different pathways to get in. My own journey started whilst I was at university, where in my first summer I worked as a junior engineer on a building project in Bristol and then spent half a year during an industrial placement in Germany working on a chemical plant and a further half year helping restore and maintain our canal network. These early experiences identified that options were broad on how to develop my career and where I could work.

It was therefore encouraging to hear over the summer that the Prime Minister announced proposed reforms that 14-year-olds will be able to get early access to technical education, skills training, work experience and connections with employers. Giving exposure to teenagers of different work environments is vital to inspire them to seek opportunities in potential careers that they might never have previously considered or been aware of.

Education outreach has long been a priority for CICES, with the institution demonstrating a strong commitment to this area over many years. In recognition of its importance, CICES appointed its first-ever education outreach manager last year to oversee and drive this essential work forward, and hopefully the proposed work experience reforms will complement the investments we are already making to inspire young people.

So, as I start my CICES presidential term, I also wish to thank immediate past-president Alex Pearsall, whose theme of Shaping the Future of Construction complemented my beliefs, and also our predecessors, many of whom also championed the need to increase awareness of civil engineering surveying and attract new entrants. I am committed to building on their legacy and aim to achieve this by promoting my presidential theme of Innovate, Integrate and Inspire.