New training requirements for Estate Agents 2008

Qualification: Further Education and Training Certificate Real Estate NQF 4 (ID 59097)

This is a national qualification on a Matric level that will raise the esteem of the Estate Agency profession and is recognized in other countries.

No longer will estate agency be a ‘job of last resort’, but rather a career of choice. A new entrant into the industry will have to make a long term commitment, because it will take at least a year to qualify and will require extensive financial resources. Quick entry into the industry will cease and dedicated people will stay.

Implementation date: 15 July 2008

How does the new requirements affect existing full status Estate Agents?
(i.e anybody who has passed the Board exam or has worked a full year as a Candidate Estate Agent)

· No one is exempt from having to prove his competency

· Every Agent has to complete a process called Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) before 31 December 2011.

· Should an Agent be registered for RPL, but by the due date fail to be found completely competent, he will be given an additional two years to remedy the situation. If he is still found to be not yet competent by 2013, his Fidelity Fund certificate will be withdrawn and he will no longer be able to operate as an Estate Agent.

· Existing agents will be assessed by way of their Portfolio of Evidence, which is a record and proof of all their qualifications in real estate and otherwise, letters of recommendation from clients, certificates of attendance, adverts, showhouse brochures, etc.

· Guidelines on how to put this together will made available, but will have to include at least 1) CV, 2) Certificates, 3) Evidence of Personal Experience and 4) Assignments.

· All Agents will have to pass the Professional Designation Examination (Final Summit Assessment) on completion of their assessment, which will be a two hour open book practical exam.

UNLESS
An Agent has been registered with the Estate Agency Affairs Board for a period of 5 consecutive years prior to the effective implementation date, being 15 July 2008.

· All Agents will be subjected to an examination called Continuing Professional Development (CPD) on an on-going basis on a 3-years rolling cycle to ensure that they keep up to date with new developments and legislation in the industry.

How does this affect new entrants into the industry?
· A compulsory intern period of one year will have to be completed, before he will acquire full status.
· This will be completed under supervision of a Principal or Agent with at least 3 years experience through a structured mentoring system.
· Such an intern with have to disclose to clients that he is an intern and he is not allowed to complete any sales documentation.
· He has to apply for a Fidelity Fund Certificate as a Candidate Estate Agent or Intern.
· He has to obtain 150 credits by being found competent on the prescribed Unit Standards within the year period and may not take leave of absence for longer than 30 consecutive days without attracting penalties.
· 30% of the work to be done is theoretical and 70% is practical.
· The Final Summit Assessment is the Professional Designation Examination and can only be taken once he has been found competent on all the Unit Standards as prescribed.
· Eg. A person would already have 70 credits, if he has done Matric with 2 languages and Mats (58 credits) and has done the EAAB exam (12 credits).


Sitters
· If a sitter acts only as custodian and does not engage in any sales talk about the property and its features, but simply takes a name and address of visitors, she need not have a Fidelity Fund Certificate.
· If she does anything more, she has to go through the complete cycle of training as Estate Agent.

Principals
· Will have to qualify on a NQF 5 level, which is equal to a Matric plus one year education
· The assessment will be conducted by an accredited assessor on at least an NQF 6 level.
· Details of exactly what the RPL process will entail are still unclear, but it is promised to be “exciting and challenging”!
· All will have to be registered for RPL by 2011 and be found competent. The extension to 2013 to ‘fill in the gaps’ will also apply.
· Directors of Real Estate Agencies must hold a Fidelity Fund Certificate and has to qualify.
Shareholders, not acting as Principal Agents do not need to qualify.
Attorneys are no longer exempt, unless the Agency is run from his practice under his legal Fidelity Fund.

Financial implication
· Current independent facilities offering training on the required Unit Standards charges R12500 per person for the training and assessment of results.
· Facilities offering the full spectrum of Recognition of Prior Learning charges R10000 – R12500 per person.
· Huizemark Franchising Group will endeavour to offer the facilitation and assessment to its Agents as far as possible FREE OF CHARGE. However, external moderation of assessment, affiliation with an accredited training provider and listing on the National Learner Database will have a cost implication.
* An initial enrolment and commitment fee of R600 will be payable which will cover the assessment of the agent's qualification for excemption.