School-leavers who want to go into estate or letting agency will be able to take a new college course from this September.
It will be run at New City College, Norwich, and is very much the brainchild of local agents Arnolds Keys, where partner Jan Hÿtch has just stepped down from being President of the NAEA.
The BTEC Subsidiary Diploma in Business with Property Services is being launched in partnership with Arnolds Keys and Rightmove, with the support of the NAEA and ARLA.
The new course, the first of its kind in the country, is a one-year full-time course for 16 to 18-year-olds, providing students with a grounding in business whilst learning about all aspects of the property profession. If successful, the course will be seeded to other colleges nationally – a number of which have already expressed interest.
Hÿtch said: “This project was driven my the desire to do something about the fact that there is n o clear pathway for young people to find a career in estate agency and lettings. Many people who work in property say that when they were looking at career options at school say they had no idea what an estate was or what they did.
“Most people who work in the industry drifted into it, resulting more from a career opportunity than a career choice. If we are going to build the image of this profession, we have to do something about it. The idea of rolling out full-time courses for 16-18-year olds is to provide, for the first time, a career route into our profession at sixth form level and so improve the talent pool.”
A key element of the course will include NFoPP qualifications in either sales or lettings.
Students will also have the option to extend their learning by progressing on to a second year to gain additional modules in business and sit, if appropriate, further NFoPP Awarding Body Level 3 Technical Awards in their chosen subject area.
Part of the course will encompass work placements in estate agents and other property businesses, giving students practical experience of how the property sector works and of the many roles available within it – from working in private and commercial estate agents to property surveying, architectural design, lettings, valuing, and auctioneering.
The college will also be offering part-time courses for those already working in the property profession. These include a new evening course, starting in September, which will enable new recruits to the sector (aged 19 and over) to sit NFoPP qualifications.
Corrienne Peasgood, principal of the college, said: “There isn’t currently a recognised pathway that prepares and qualifies young people for the many career opportunities within the property services professions. City College Norwich is delighted to become the first college in the country to offer this exciting new course.
“We are looking forward to developing this further as we build towards establishing a ‘property academy’ here at the college.”
Hÿtchsaid: “It has been an ambition of mine for many years to create a way for young people to train towards a career in the property profession.
“Estate agency and lettings remains unregulated, despite the efforts of the NAEA and ARLA to persuade successive governments to regulate the industry for the protection of the consumer.
“Our aim is to turn that around, by increasing the knowledge and ability of the talent pool from which we draw.”
An important course announcement but the article lacks information about the content or format/modules, or is it just taking existing NAEA courses on a full time basis?
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Interesting. I contacted the NFoPP last week re: delivery of EA courses as part of further education in the lifelong learning sector. None available, other than going to MOL, getting their distance learning package, studying at home and taking the 4 x exams for the Technical Awards.
Good to see a college taking this topic on board. No doubt, the qualification will incorporate the normal exams as well but definitely a gap in the market for training companies (or estate agents with teaching qualifications about to start a training company :0) )
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Qualifications are great and should be promoted. HOWEVER if the industry is not regulated what does it really mean? Countrywide have City & Guilds qualifications but some of their staff are the worse around. Rather than a year long course at collage I would encourage these youngsters to join an estate agency as a junior and get on the job training. Will learn to sell and answer a phone with they will not in the classroom and also learn the technical side on the job. Until agency becomes regulated and a qualification is needed I would prefer to employ somebody with the right attitude and train them my way. I would lose a lot of good members of staff if I went on qualifications.
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"Rather than a year long course at collage I would encourage these youngsters to join an estate agency as a junior and get on the job training."
Surely though, 'smile please', the effectiveness of this would depend ENTIRELY on the Agency that the young trainee joined? Great if it is a quality company, which conducts its business ethically and professionally – but what if it is one of the minority who bring the reputation of our industry down?
The youngsters aren't exactly going to know the difference – are they?
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Peebee, a fair point but I believe most agents are respectable, ethical and professional. Technically what they will be learning on this course is not too taxing, they are not qualifying as surveyors. Even with a qualification they can go to an agency and learn a corrupt manner. I would also ask you to look at staff recruitment, who are your better staff? are they people persons (not sure they is the correct grammar) or well educated individuals?
A good example is mortgage broking. You can get a very taxing qualification such as cemap to allow you to write mortgages but no actual training how to submit or sell a mortgage. Many qualified mortgage brokers go by the way side as they cannot sell or know how to place a mortgage.
A responsible recruiter / employer looking at the best interests of the his or her business will give on the job training.
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smile please – "…I believe most agents are respectable, ethical and professional."
As do I – hence me saying "…but what if it is one of the MINORITY who bring the reputation of our industry down?".
If only the public were able to discern – then we wouldn't get the rap.
We will just continue to fight the good fight, 'smile please'… 😉
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Peebee, I fail to see how a minority of an industry can bring it down? I also fail to see how one college will prevent this. The only way the public will be able to discern is if we are regulated as an industry. Even if an agency is NAEA, ARLA or an individual holds a fellowship it really does not mean a thing.
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"I fail to see how a minority of an industry can bring it down?"
Power of the media, mon ami. We can fight it all we want -ignore it if we choose to – but we simply can't deny that people take it in and 'believe' the bad press we as an industry have been subjected to over the years…
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As someone who grafted day release to sit such industry exams I am able to see a certain irony in what Jan is trying to achieve when balanced with the reality of the regime at Arbon House.
I have been trying to renew my Fellowship of NAEA, despite being time served and having sat/passed five three hour exams as part of the ISVA qualifications [at the time promoted and regarded by RICS as degree equivalent] it seems those particular qualifications are no longer valid.
Perhaps if there is a genuine desire to address falling standards within the Industry the best place to start is by using the wealth of qualification that has abandoned NFoPP in recent years. If the partners and principals of firms can see little merit in NFoPP it is unlikely that they will encourage their staff onto courses such as this.
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I knew this day would come where I would one day agree with him!
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LOL – you'll be 'besties' before you can blink twice! 😉
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