TWENTY ESTATE AGENTS COMPLETE GROUND-BREAKING TRAINING INITIATIVE

Twenty members of staff from members of the Norwich & District Association of Estate Agents are celebrating completing a ground-breaking training initiative - the first of its kind in the UK.

The group have completed an intensive ten week training course designed to prepare them for the Propertymark Level 3 Technical Award in Residential Estate Agency – likely to be the benchmark qualification when the profession is regulated, a move which was announced by the government in April.

The group have been attending three-hour evening sessions led by property training expert Julie Tyler, who was also the lead tutor on the industry-first Estate Agency and Customer Service initiative developed by City College and Arnolds Keys, which led to national recognition for the qualification and a national roll-out of the curriculum.

Jan Hÿtch, NDAEA committee member responsible for training, and a partner at Arnolds Keys, said, “We all of us – estate agents, sellers, buyers, landlords and tenants – want to see higher standards of training and skills in the profession, and the move towards regulation is a very positive one.

“However, here in Norfolk we have not waited for the introduction of that regulation, but have moved forward with an initiative to help member agencies improve skills levels amongst their staff, for the benefit of their clients and customers.

“We have already put in place programmes in Norfolk to help train new entrants to our profession, but this is the first to help develop really top-level skills for those who are already working in it.  This initiative was designed to fill that gap.”

The 20 estate agents who have completed the course will now sit their exams to achieve the Propertymark Level 3 Technical Award in Residential Estate Agency.  One candidate, Christina Mallinder of Arnolds Keys, sat three exams the day after the course completed, gaining marks of over 90 per cent in each exam.

Meanwhile, plans are afoot to repeat the course for other NDAEA members’ staff, as well as developing a parallel initiative to upskill residential letting agents.