Propertymark rejects politician’s criticism of agency qualifications

Propertymark’s training arm, Propertymark Qualifications, says there’s been a strong uptake across the board with the first of its candidates passing a new Level 4 Certificate in Property Management.

This is the highest qualification available and comparable to a Higher National Certificate (HNC).

Propertymark has said that as more people look to the industry for a profession, it believes the work of an agent requires an uptake of key skills and says that those who want to make strides in their career, work to high standards, and are passionate should be given course options suitable for them.

Nathan Emerson, chief executive, comments: “Propertymark’s ethos is to raise standards in the industry, so we wholeheartedly stand for professionalising agents and believe higher education needs to exist in order to comply with the raft of requirements expected and to operate to the highest standard they possibly can.

“It’s refreshing to see that those who are aspiring to move into the career of a property agent also want to uphold and conduct their work to the best of their abilities.”

Propertymark says it urges anyone who is thinking of changing careers, starting out as an agent or even wanting to progress in the industry to seriously consider undertaking a qualification to make them stand out from the crowd.

Recently a cross-bench member of the House of Lords - Baroness Foxtons of Buckley - accused a university of a “con” by having a real estate degree course.

She told the Lords: “I fear the problem is that we have lost sight of what universities are for … it is a con when new university degrees are created as a substitute for high-quality skills training—the latest being estate agents’ degrees—while academic study is suffering? 

“… Is not this university growth propelled by credentialing schemes, leading to the exploitation of overseas students who are effectively buying visas/degrees to pay for this ridiculous, non-academic growth?