1. Training – significant steps forward 2. Profiles on two more IEA directors – Mark Marks and John Nurse 3. Details on the upcoming AGM



Training - significant steps forward WE'VE said it before and we'll keep on saying it. Training is the most important part of our service to our members, because we believe it is indispensible to any professional service-provider. Unfortunately, the lack of compulsory qualifications and standards has tended to undermine the value of estate agency industry training, but during the past few weeks both the industry and the Institute of Estate Agents have taken several significant steps forward. At IEA Western Cape level, we have enlarged our training centre to accommodate more trainees and more courses. And we're very pleased to announce that several of our courses have been accredited by the Services SETA. At industry level, the estate agent/valuer qualification that we helped to establish has become a reality, and the SA Qualifications Authority has at last published the draft unit standards for the new national certificates and diploma for estate agents. Our new premises at 10 Howard Studios contain no less than three training rooms, which will enable us to run up to three courses simultaneously. Together they can accommodate 100 people at a time. We will therefore be offering more courses than before - watch the press for details. The Services SETA has accredited us as a training provider and given official recognition to five of our existing courses: real estate sales, commercial and industrial broking, property development and investment, auctioneering, and our EAAB exam course. This means that our courses have passed quality control, and that estate agencies who sponsor their agents to attend these courses will be able to recover the course fees through skills levy grants. Our colleagues in the property valuers profession have established a certificate which will enable estate agents to qualify as "single residential property assessors". It comes into operation on 1 September, and consists of five first-year subjects from the curriculum for the property valuation diploma, plus some practical assessments. We're proud to say that we worked with the valuers' profession to create this new certificate, which will enable estate agents to add to their professional services. Finally, after a six-year wait (!), our industry's new national qualifications have been announced. They are still in draft form, but we hope they will be finalised before the end of this year, so that we can begin training people for them in the new year. They comprise a matric-level Certificate in Property Practice, a post-matric National Certificate in Real Estate, and a tertiary National Diploma in Real Estate. Each consists of a range of study units, including finance and management as well as real estate. Six years ago, the Estate Agency Affairs Board indicated that the national qualifications would be made compulsory for entry into, and advancement within, the industry. We don't know if that is still the intention, but we hope it is, as it will contribute towards raising industry standards. Meet your Directors Every month, we profile (in alphabetical order) two of the IEA Western Cape regional directors. Mark Marks Entered the property industry in 1973. He has been an IEA member since 1978 and a director since 1982. His speciality is sectional title, and he lectures and publishes articles on this topic. As an IEA Western Cape director, Mark serves on the finance committee, and acts as sectional title advisor. He received the Geoffrey Seeff Memorial Award in 2002. John Nurse Joined the property industry in 1984, after many years in the restaurant business. He has lived and worked in Cape Town since 1990, and currently focuses on the residential property market. As an IEA Western Cape director, John is involved in education, which is one of our cornerstone activities. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 23 September 2003 Book now for IEA Western Cape's AGM! Included in the programme:- Official opening of our new premises Date: 23 September 2003 Time: 18:00 Venue: IEA offices, 10 Howard Studios, Sheldon Way, Pinelands (corner of Howard Drive, opposite Riverside Manor retirement flats) To book: phone Debbie at 021 531 3180