Are you nurturing your successes?

More and more companies are taking the plunge and employing apprentices and, with 77 per cent of employers believing that apprentices make their business more competitive, it is easy to see why.

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The Junior Estate Agency standard – the framework that outlines the work that an estate agency apprentice has to undertake, has been really well received by the sector. Propertymark Qualifications are delighted with the interest that they have received from training providers and are receiving enquiries about whether the organisation will be adding a Level 3 standard alongside the Level 2. Watch this space.

Practical steps

The stumbling block for many employers is understanding the practical steps: how to recruit an apprentice, what funding is available and how to access it, along with concerns about hurdles that employers may have to overcome in employing an apprentice. There is also nervousness among many employers about whether a totally inexperienced member of staff will really be beneficial to the existing team? There may be questions around who will take responsibility for them, what they will be capable of and how they will affect the existing dynamic.

Support available

In order to help members to navigate the complexities of apprenticeships, Propertymark has created a guide, designed to de-mystify the funding available, process for recruitment and requirements around supporting your apprentice. 

Combining qualifications and an apprenticeship

For agents contemplating the options around bringing inexperienced staff into the business, it is worth knowing that the Propertymark Qualifications Level 2 Award in Introduction to Sale of Residential Property – England, Wales and Northern Ireland is closely aligned to the apprenticeship standard.

In the course of the apprenticeship training, the apprentice is very likely to learn the knowledge needed to pass the Level 2 qualification online exams. For this reason, training providers are using achievement of this qualification as a sign that an apprentice is ready for assessment.

Whether a learner needs both an apprenticeship and a qualification will always be a matter of personal choice, but both are fantastic pillars for building a successful and confident career in the sector with a qualification providing access to membership of Propertymark.

Propertymark Qualifications is an ‘endpoint assessment organisation’ for the Level 2 standard, meaning that when you – as a line manager or company (or in agreement with your training provider if you are using one) – decide that your apprentice has completed their learning, we can offer assessment, moving your apprentice on from their apprenticeship to become a well-trained member of staff with a positive attitude to ongoing CPD.