‘Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not’: Clare Johnson MBE, RICS
Posted on: 3 July, 2026
By Linda Serck
Speaking at the University of the Built Environment’s summer 2026 graduation, Clare Johnson MBE, Regional Market Director for Central UK at RICS, told graduates that their non-traditional routes into the built environment are a source of strength, not something to explain away.
For Clare Johnson MBE FRICS, the route into the built environment did not begin with a polished career plan, a perfectly mapped pathway or a youthful certainty about where she would end up. It began with part-time study, work as a lifeguard, and a willingness to keep going.
Speaking before a packed Reading Concert Hall audience on Thursday 2 July, Clare reflected on a career that has taken her from studying for a degree while working, through senior roles at the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), to her current role at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), where she supports the profession she once entered by a route she could never have fully predicted.
“If I’m honest, my 20-year-old self would never in a million years have imagined me standing here today, having been awarded an MBE for services to the profession, or being recognised as an honorary fellow of this amazing institution,” she said.
From lifeguard to RICS
Clare’s own career story carried a message likely to resonate with many University of the Built Environment graduates. She did not begin with a conventional route into surveying. She worked as a lifeguard while studying part-time for an RICS-accredited degree and, like many young people at the start of their careers, was still working out where her choices might lead.
“At that stage, I didn’t have a clear blueprint,” she said. “What I did have was a willingness to learn, to work hard and to take opportunities when they came along.”
She told graduates that one of the things that shaped her career most was “a willingness to step forward, even when I didn’t feel completely ready”. Along the way, she volunteered for opportunities, put her head above the parapet and said yes to things outside her comfort zone. Not every opportunity worked out perfectly, but each helped her build “experience, confidence, and visibility”.
Over time, those moments opened doors and helped her progress in ways she could never have planned at the outset. As Clare put it: “This reinforced for me that progression doesn’t just come from doing your job well, it often comes from being willing to stretch yourself beyond that.”
The Valuation Office Agency
Clare’s connection with UBE runs through her previous work at the Valuation Office Agency, where she worked closely with the University in its earlier forms as the College of Estate Management and UCEM.
Together, they created pathways for colleagues at the VOA to access qualifications while continuing to work, irrespective of academic background. Clare saw the results repeatedly: individuals who may never have seen themselves in the profession went on to gain qualifications, achieve professional status and progress into leadership roles.
They did so, she said, “not because they followed a conventional path, but because they were given the opportunity to grow into it”.
That experience reinforced one of the strongest messages of her address: “talent is everywhere but opportunity is not, and educational institutions like the University of the Built Environment, alongside employers, play a crucial role in closing that gap.”
Trust and chartered surveying
The graduates are entering the built and natural environment sector at a time of profound change, Clare said, with climate and sustainability challenges, rapid technological advancement, and growing expectations around professionalism, ethics and social value all reshaping the profession.
At the same time, demand for skilled professionals has never been greater. “At RICS, we talk a lot about trust,” she said. “Trust in the data we rely on. Trust in the advice we provide. And trust in the professionals shaping our built and natural environment. You are now part of that.”
For many graduates, that next stage will include professional qualification, whether through the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) or equivalent pathways with other professional bodies. Clare encouraged them not to lose momentum for too long after graduation, reminding them that professional membership is more than a title: it represents “a commitment, to standards, to ethics and to continuous professional development”.
Be curious, collaborative and courageous
In her closing words, Clare left graduates with three pieces of advice:
“Be curious. Because learning does not stop here, it is a lifelong journey.
“Be collaborative. Because the challenges we face will only be solved through strong partnerships between professionals, academia and professional bodies.
“Be courageous. Because this profession needs your ideas. You are not just joining a profession, you will have the opportunity to help to shape its future.”
On behalf of RICS and the wider profession, Clare congratulated the graduates and welcomed them into the next stage of their careers.
“The future of this profession is clearly in capable hands,” she said, “and we look forward to seeing the difference you will make.”
