By Robert Carew-Chaston, managing director, Hutchings & Thomas Chartered Surveyors, Newport

One only has to cast an eye over any of our major cities in Wales, including our very own Newport, to witness the exciting changes that are taking place. The panorama in most seems to change on an almost a daily basis - the changes are happening so swiftly.

Newport, with its thrilling multi-million pound retail and chic residential developments, is a hive of activity. Cardiff and Swansea too have sky-scraping cranes piercing the horizon in all directions.

These are the positive and tangible signs of regeneration going on in our midst. A testament to the solid and sustained confidence that there is and continues to be right across Wales.

And at the very heart of all this activity are professionals vitally involved in all stages of the construction profession from chartered surveyors to civil engineers, architects to builders, quantity surveyors to property agents.

It certainly is an exciting, absorbing, busy and vibrant time to be involved in a profession which can truly stake its claim to being able to say that what it does leaves an indelible mark on people's lives.

I was considering this fact recently when, as Chairman of the South East Wales Local Association of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Wales, I was honoured to make presentations to long-serving RICS members. In all presentations were made to some 32 current members who together had each been in the profession in excess of 50 years - a staggering 1,600 years between them.

It is worth reflecting, at this time when so much is happening in all parts of Wales, on the positive legacy these people have left - the built inheritance that we see around us today.

It says something about the profession that people enjoy their careers so much, which appears increasingly rare these days,that they have made a lifetime commitment to their work.

At this time of year, when many youngsters are considering their options at school and for university, it'd be well worthwhile for some to have a good look around, see what is going on and consider how they can play a part in shaping their own and the future of their compatriots by studying to become a chartered surveyor.

Increasingly, it is gratifying to note, Wales is managing to hang onto to its young, graduate-calibre people who are choosing to develop careers and seek their fortune here, in their homeland, rather than becoming part of the brain drain to other parts of the UK and beyond.

The exciting developments that are coming out of the ground in Wales and those that are on the cards should act as a powerful magnet for those seeking excitement in the working lives to stay here in Wales to make their mark.

If you are interested in a career in chartered surveying or know someone who is please feel free to contact me, Robert Carew-Chaston, on 01633 214444 for further information.