Self-development is a hot topic for us at the moment. We know we keep saying it, but whilst lockdown continues there really isn’t a better time to factor in regular training to help improve your skills. We caught up with our friends at Able Agent who said they are receiving lots of enquiries about furloughed staff and training. Director Charlotte Jeffery-Campbell answers some of these questions below.
What does it mean for staff who are furloughed?
What training is available for staff working from home?
Is it worth doing a qualification ready for RoPA?
A great side of furlough is the fact that employers can actually mandate training for those employees on furlough. As long as the company is not in receipt of any money for this training then this is permitted.
All the employers I have spoken to want to keep their employees engaged and keep them learning new things and also keep their brains stimulated.
Agents have adjusted to the fact that getting back to normality may be months away but are being positive about getting “match fit” for when the time comes for a new normal when lockdown measures are reduced.
Many have also signed up their teams to qualifications whilst they have time and motivation to study.
There are so many different options for self-development
Membership bodies - the ICG and The Guild are offering webinars very specific to current challenges and are great to get a feel for what is happening in the industry from well-known industry figures.
Podcasts - are also a fantastic tool and are a great source of industry commentary. Kerfuffle Podcast, The World Class Agency podcast and The Estate Agents podcast are all free and regularly produced and designed to offer practical tips but in a light-hearted way.
YouTube – Christopher Watkin, for example, has a fantastic and seeming endless supply of films produced with all sorts of industry experts plus industry hints and tips.
Short Online Courses – these could be one-off “short” courses such “how to use Linkedin”, “Health and Safety”, “First aid” or something to encourage a hobby such as painting or dancing.
Industry-specific estate agency and lettings online courses - are a structured way of identifying training content – so if there are sales skills training needs, or compliance needs or general legal knowledge needs, these tools can be used to “pick and mix” what is relevant for each individual.
Qualifications - although the timing is uncertain, another thing to consider is RoPA. Whilst we may not know when this is coming and even if, why wait to get staff qualified? Getting teams qualified will most likely be cheaper now that when it becomes mandatory! So, staff could get qualified and prepared for RoPA. The RoPA report stated that the required qualification for general staff, listers, and managers (not directors) would be at Level 3 and Ofqual regulated.
Consider the choices available
Everyone is aware of the Propertymark (often called NfoPP) qualifications in either Sale of Residential Property or Lettings and Property Management but may not be aware of the Chartered Institute of Housing Qualifications or ABBE’s L3 Ofqual regulated “Certificate in Property Advice & Practice” (CePAP). CePAP can be studied online and covers sales skills & customer service as well as all the relevant estate agency and lettings process and law in one course and exam.
As well as being able to get a qualification, choosing an industry-specific online course will also give agents a knowledge and ideas boost for when we do eventually stop working from our beds (sorry homes!).
Charlotte Jeffrey-Campbell is Director of The Able Agent® Online training for estate & lettings agents and has developed the new Ofqual regulated ABBE L3 qualification Certificate in Property Advice & Practice (CePAP).
Find out more about The Able Agent here.
Charlotte will be running a training session on kerfuffle kampus on the 21st May at 11am on ‘Training is for life and not just for Covid’. Register now.
