Launch of pilot project



The Institute of Estate Agents in the Western Cape will launch a pilot project next month to provide skills training for registered estate agents from historically marginalised communities, with the aim of helping to raise professional standards. The four-month training course is open to applicants who have proved their commitment by working in the industry for at least a year. The programme will consist of training sessions ranging across a host of topics including sales, marketing, office administration and basic financial requirements. It will also encompass facets such as legal knowledge, IT training, use of the institute’s facilities, how to access SAPTG information for property valuations, and more. Candidates selected for the course will not only be given basic training on these aspects, but will also be mentored by current board directors in the region, who will provide a support system that the agents have lacked until now. Each director has committed to a mentorship programme and will be available in an advisory capacity, answering trainees’ queries on the telephone. Those who are able will also demonstrate administration procedures at their offices and enable trainees to gain hands-on experience there. Administrative training, which has requested by many agents, may, for example, include sectional title management by a specialist in the sector. The institute plans to train two groups of agents during the first year and bring back the same groups for advanced training the following year. The first training course, recently advertised in the media and expected to accommodate 20 to 25 agents, is already nearly booked up. Anne Porter, the organisation’s Western Cape chairman, says the institute is delighted with the calibre of agents who have so far been accepted on the course. Several have been running one-person businesses for two to ten years and are eager to upgrade their skills. The project, Porter’s brainchild, has received the board’s unanimous blessing. With its focus on transformation during 2003/4, the institute believes this training is the most effective contribution it could make, as each agent will become confident in negotiation, management, administration and all other aspects of the work. While transformation is a key focus during the current board’s term of office, Porter points out that the institute has always been fully integrated, with no barriers to membership, barring compulsory registration with the Estate Agents Affairs Board. “The training will be directed to cover the needs of the agents in their specific market,” she says. “Legal language is a problem therefore we intend formulating a simple explanation of a deed of sale in English, using layman’s terms, with explanations in Xhosa and Afrikaans.” The pilot project has the support of the Services SETA (Sector Education Training Authority). If the pilot is successful, the Western Cape branch will provide a blueprint that will enable the institute to implement the programme on a nationwide basis. Training will be provided free to the participating agents. For more information or to register for training, phone the Institute of Estate Agents’ Western Cape branch on (021) 531 3180.