Trainingmatters


Andrea Kirkby learns about the growing trend for qualification in estate agency


E


state agents never used to need qualifications. You’d meet the occasional chartered surveyor, of course, in the larger firms, but the RICS qualification wasn’t


considered particularly relevant to the average sales negotiator or lettings agent. And apart from RICS, there wasn’t anything else. That’s definitely changed over the past


few years, with an increasing number of different routes to a qualification in estate agency or management. It’s still early days; Susie Crolla, Chief Executive of the Guild of Letting & Management, says, “Only six per cent of lettings agents are qualified.” But more and more agents are taking qualifications. NFOPP has already awarded 8,000 passes in sales and letting, and hundreds in the more recently launched auctioneering and commercial agency streams, and the Letting Training Centre has trained over 10,000 lettings agents since 1996. The trend to professionalisation shows no sign of stopping.


18 FEBRUARY 2011 PROPERTYdrum THE UNIVERSITY DEGREE


There’s a wide variety both of qualifications and of training types, from university degrees to apprenticeships. Glyndwr University, for instance, has offered a BSc in estate agency since 1993, and estate management since 2002. The two degrees share most of their content, but are recognised as two different strands for CEPI (European Council of Real Estate Professionals) accreditation. Kevin Gilliam, Principal Lecturer, Built


Only six per cent of lettings agents


are qualified.” SUSIE CROLLA CEO, THE GUILD OF LETTING & MANAGEMENT


Environment at Glyndwr University, says the degree aims to turn out well-rounded professionals. “Our vocational degrees are exactly that; you get the theory but you do also get the professional aspects. What the students are learning and practising is what the professional organisations want and what they’re prepared to recognise.” The degree gives automatic entry to some professional bodies, and counts towards membership requirements for others.


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