Property group invests millions in agent training

From left Lindsay Beck, HR manager; Dr Andrew Golding, CE; and Michelle Keegan, head of internal training for the Pam Golding Property group.

The aim is to ensure that they are fully compliant with the requirements of the new national curriculum for education and training and meet the growing demands of an increasingly demanding and sophisticated marketplace, says Dr Andrew Golding, CE of the PGP group.

"With the official introduction of the Department of Trade and Industry's new regulations regarding training qualifications for real estate agents scheduled to take effect from 1 April (2008), we are fully geared to implement these with our first intake of 100 PGP agents to be trained at our own in-house Services Seta accredited Pam Golding Training Academy. Subsequent further training will thereafter be implemented as and where required and will include specialist training outsourced through experts in their field such as the Graduate School of Business," says Dr Golding.

The group currently has about 300 offices in southern Africa, and about 3000 agents. All will have to be trained and assessed in terms of the new requirements over the next three to five years, as well as comply with ongoing professional development requirements.

Golding says the group launched the academy back in 2000 with the aim of being a major national training provider that would set a new benchmark for industry standards in South Africa. Over the years, the academy has provided comprehensive in-house training for the group's agents and this has been enhanced as the group has already incorporated the curriculum into their training program.

From a consumer perspective, Dr Golding says this will ensure that buyers and sellers can be assured of dealing with professionals with all the necessary skills and knowledge at their fingertips.

"The new curriculum is welcomed as it is beneficial to consumers and the industry in general. It's also far more specific and honed to suit the complex and ever-evolving requirements of the real estate industry, encompassing a wide range of knowledge and skills incorporating legislative issues, marketing and finance, property management and estimations of market value, among many others,” he says.

The new qualification is outcomes based but utilises unit standards that represent a minimum of 150 credits - each of which represents 10 hours of learning. This translates into a total of 1500 hours of training of which 500 are in the classroom and 1000 are practical on-the-job training. Agents already operating in the industry will have to write a Professional Designation Examination after obtaining the FET Certification: Real Estate before the end of 2013 if they have not been registered estate agents for at least five years on 1 April 2007. Those who have been in the industry for five years still need to obtain the qualification by 2013 to remain registered.

In addition to agents, all of the group's administrative staff undergo ongoing training through the Academy. In addition, the group's management development program - developed in conjunction with the globally rated University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business - has seen an investment of some R2 million over the past year alone, with further investment earmarked for such training over the next two years.