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Brendan Wong
Entrants coming into the real estate industry need lengthier training courses before becoming qualified, according to a veteran agent.
Former owner of Professionals Killarney Vale David Spinks told Real Estate Business current qualification training was enabling inexperienced people to enter the profession.
“They go and do a course for three days and they’re suddenly a licensed real estate agent and they can go and open up their own office," he said.
“Thirty years ago we had to do three years of TAFE, plus another year for auctioneering and another year stock and station, so it was between three and six years before we became qualified."
Mr Spinks’ comments were in response to Real Estate Business’ story last week about agents attempting to poach clients from other competitors.
He said the practice had been rife in his marketplace and was due to the influx of new entrants.
“After three or four days, they’ve got their licences, they’re out there running millions of dollars of trust accounts and they don’t even know what they’re doing," he said.
“There’s hardly a day goes by that I don’t get a phone call from some of these young agents running offices asking me what they should do.”
While he supported continued professional development and ongoing training, he said new agents should be required to complete a compulsory three-year course.
According to real estate recruiter at Design and Build Clare Verrall, the issue was a lack of quality practical training from agencies and entrants not being aware of the difficulties of the job from the start.
“I think sitting in a classroom learning more about legislation isn’t going to really help,” she said. “So much of real estate is 'you've kind of got it or not' on the sales side, but on the property management side, definitely.
“It’s about having a good mentor and I think that’s probably the most important thing. Sitting next to somebody who is good at doing what they do and not having the pressure of listing and selling but assisting them and watching them and learning from them is the best way to learn how to be a great real estate agent."
Julian Conte, director of hockingstuart Werribee and Melton, said courses for licences as well as practical training were both important and needed to be taken seriously.
“You really need the full background of the legal system, plus you need the practical experience to be able to handle such an important part of people’s lives,” he said.
“We’ve got young agents, 20-25 year-olds, but they’ve had a lot of training from our head office programs and they’re more equipped to handle the job than 40 year-olds who haven’t had any training.”
Mr Conte said the in-house training and mentoring from a large network like hockingstuart helped him to start his own office five years ago.
“When I became a director, I didn’t have the experience of running a business and a lot of hockingstuart’s most successful guys put their hands up to mentor me and coach me through that, which really helped us get up with our businesses,” he said.
- <p>All in the name of increasing competition being good for the consumer experience??<p class='break'>&nbsp;</p>Might be the case for Banks and supermarkets, petrol stations, however increasing competition in many industries comes at a major cost. The airline industry has seen many examples of where too much competition results in lower profitability and therefore "cost" cutting to survive. Unfortunately cost cutting usually starts in the pilot skills or maintenance area and planes start falling from the skies, extreme result people die!!<p class='break'>&nbsp;</p>In real estate people take short cuts to earn a living, tell lies, dip into trust accounts etc etc. This deregulation to create more competition is not good for consumers</p>0
- <p>To obtain a licence in NSW a Certificate IV level course must be completed and while a minimum time in the industry (like it used to be) should be required, I don't think the course itself is the issue. <p class='break'>&nbsp;</p><p class='break'>&nbsp;</p>As an experienced agent and someone that has run several training providers I can say that there is no way in the world that a licensing program could be delivered in 3 days to someone with no considerable experience, under the framework of the training package. <p class='break'>&nbsp;</p><p class='break'>&nbsp;</p>The real threat to our profession are the changes proposed for National Licensing. If this gets up in its current form, the concerns of people completing licence courses in three days will be the least of our problems.</p>0
- <p>At last , there is a movement that recognizes the need for a more intensive training for both real estate representatives and a probationary period for those who have obtained their full estate agent's licence before they can commence their own practice. ( say a 18 months period. Add an increase period at school to qualify for either licence and the industry will then rightly upgrade the status to a profession, which at present, it is not because of the standard of knowledge currently needed to practice.</p>0
- <p>Gone are the days when if the 'applicant' had a 'pulse and cheque book' you would accept them into the real estate courses and industry !</p>0
- <p>If you think it is bad now!!! wait until National Licensing comes in, when they will be dumming it down. In WA there will be no need for Police Clearances, No age restriction, (currently you must be 18 years and over and have two years practical experience in the industry before you can obtain a License). It all gets back to the quality of the training being provided by the RTO. It is time to report these training organisations. I have personally witnessed, a rep only providing his letterhead and business card to receive an exemption for a unit of competency. I will always ask any future employees "where did you obtain your qualifications" and maybe we should be educating our sellers to do the same!!!!!</p>0
- <p>You CANNOT have it both ways!!<p class='break'>&nbsp;</p>You cannot expect ethics,integrity,honesty AND expirience/knowledge from someone running a business,who has received their licence, as they say, "From A Cornflakes Packet" Its no wonder we are hearing regularly of the OFT issuing fines for trust account breaches.<p class='break'>&nbsp;</p>Has someone NOT seen the "OBVIOUS" ??<p class='break'>&nbsp;</p>Next to no training = High Trust Account Breaches....</p>0
- <p>So true when I received my Licence the course was 6 weeks full time or TAFE 2 nights a week for 3 years including 2 years in the Industry.</p>0
- <p>Another problem that is rearing its head in South East Queensland is a lack of spoken and written English skills! I cannot understand how people who cannot use conversational English (or in some cases, even basic English) can obtain a full real estate agents licence.</p>0
- <p>This is so true, too many coming into the industry and don't even know how to fill out a 22a or do up a contract. Yet they have the qualifications to be a principal??</p>0
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