FAQ Agent Requalification

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS IN CONNECTION   WITH THE NEW ESTATE AGENT TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

1) Have the Regulations been implemented yet?

-Yes. The new regulations as issued by the Minister of the Department of Trade and Industry in terms of the Estate Agency Affairs Act have been made law. This as of a Notice published in the Government Gazette on the 4th June 2008. The regulations and new dispensation will become effective from the 15th July 2008.

2) Will the new Regulations and requirements affect existing as well as new agents still to be qualified?

- Yes, anyone wishing to operate as an estate agent will have to obtain a new qualification called the Further Education and Training Certificate: Real Estate at a certain level of qualification being National Qualification Framework (NQF) Level 4 and Level 5 for principals- that is, if you own the agency (“the boss”) or are a director of the company or member of the close corporation which trades as the estate agency business. If you want to operate as the principle you will need both the NQF Level 4 and 5 qualification, much like graduating from one standard or grade to another, you need to achieve the qualification “before” as well.

- The South African National Qualification Framework is made up of 8 levels. It is a national hypothetical grid on which every qualification that is officially recognized by the South African authorities is assessed.

-To give some idea of the standard of the new qualification,  NQF level 4 is supposedly at matric qualification level and NQF level 5 up from there at the level of post-matric diplomas and occupational certificates.

A first degree or higher diploma is at NQF level 6
An Honours degree is at NQF level 7
Doctorates and further research are at NQF level 8

-That said, it needs to be mentioned that if you look carefully at the actual content of the unit standards or subjects that form the basis of the new curriculum, it does suggest that in fact the standard is higher than that of matric level and rather, at university level. So there is a “tension” of soughts between what standard the new curriculum is said to be and that which on closer inspection it appears to be.

- The unit standards are broadly divided into 3 categories- fundamental, core and elective. The fundamental and core are compulsory whereas the electives are not. A certain number of credits must be earned from the fundamental and core categories and the balance from the elective modules.

- The proposed new curriculum is without a doubt wider in scope and depth than the existing curriculum or syllabus.  It has certainly been the aim of government to enhance and upgrade the industry to become more of a recognized profession with higher standards and to clearly identify and benchmark the necessary standards and entry requirements, much like other recognized professions.

3)What is the difference between what the existing agents will have to do to remain in the game compared with the requirements for new agents coming in?

UP UNTIL NOW:

There has been an option for either a
One year internship as a candidate agent
Or
Writing the 40 mark multiple choice exam as prepared by the Estate Agency Affairs Board.
It is said that the standard of this exam has up until now been at grade 10 level.

ENTRANTS TO THE INDUSTRY UNDER THE NEW REGULATIONS- 3 REQUIREMENTS:

• Firstly, the applicant must serve a candidate estate agent internship of 12 months
- During this time you may not perform any acts unless your status as an intern is disclosed in printed material, not including adverts. The intern must act under active supervision of a principal estate agent or other agent with 3 fidelity fund years of experience. The intern must not hold himself out as someone with the necessary formal estate agent qualifications and may not complete or draft any documentation relating to a transaction negotiated by him except in the presence of a principal or 3 year fidelity fund certified agent.
• Study for, be assessed on and attain a new qualification being the FETC: Real Estate NQF Level 4 (level 5 for principals)
One would study either full time or part time, much like through Unisa. A part time course will probably be a year and a full time course 6 months. Who is offering these courses? - To the best of our knowledge there are only one or at most 2 accredited trainers in the country at the moment.  Now that the Regulations have been made law and the curriculum finalised, there should be a flurry of activity by those interested in this educational side of the industry to draft all the course material and companies will seize this commercial opportunity to become accredited trainers and assessors.
• Write the Board’s new estate agent admission exam- the “Professional Designation Exam or PDE”
- Only once the NQF Level 4 or 5 Certificate has been attained, can the applicant sit for the PDE. The order of events then would be along the following lines: The intended agent registers for their internship with an estate agency outfit, commences their studies – either full time or part time- to obtain the NQF Level 4 qualification (and Level 5 if they also want to operate as a principal) and once they have obtained that Certificate, towards the middle to end of their internship, they write the new exam.

EXISTING AGENTS:

• No studying for the new qualification necessary;
• But you will be assessed to prove your qualification and go through a “Recognition of Prior Learning Process” (“RPL”);

Basically the thinking is the following:

If a person can prove that he already knows what he is supposed to learn, he does not have to learn it again.

• Prove what you already know and your skill as against what you are required to know in terms of set down new criteria and subjects/unit standards;
• What you lack in knowledge or skill you will have to learn or master and be assessed (tested or judged)) on;
• In doing so, you will have to compile a Portfolio of Evidence to prove you have the required knowledge and skill;
• It does not matter how you came by the knowledge or skill. You will just need to prove you have it- so whether by means of formal training and education, informal training and education, on the job training, courses, seminars, legal updates and workshops, life experience etc;
• If the assessor is satisfied then the agent is assessed as “competent”.
And,
• You will need to write the exam (same one as written by the new agents) UNLESS YOU HAVE HELD A FIDELITY FUND CERTIFICATE FOR 5 YEARS CONTINUOUSLY BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE ie 15 July 2008

So in a nutshell,  new agents have to go through the whole learning process from start to finish whereas with existing agents it is more of an upgrading of your status to bring you in line with new qualification criteria. It is a short cut procedure.

I have been asked by a number of agents what will happen if they were issued with 5 fidelity fund certificates over the last 7 years say? For some reason they did not apply for or they applied for and did not receive a fidelity fund certificate for a couple of years, thereby breaking the 5 year continuous cycle. So for 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007 they held the certificates but not for 2004 and 2005, for some reason. Unfortunately this is a problem as the Regulations speak of continuous service so that mean unbroken and 5 years in a row. The Board will need to address this problem with the agents concerned.

4) By what date do we as existing agents have to be “RPL’d”?

- By 31 December 2011. If an agent goes through the RPL process and fails to meet the required standards to be awarded the relevant qualification and is assessed “not competent”,  then he or she will be given an automatic 2 year extension within which to undergo remedial training so as to attain the qualification. There may be certain areas that are identified as needing attention and work whereas others they are “up to scratch” on.

- The 2 year extension is given from the date that the Portfolio of Evidence or POE is handed in. If, given the requirement that the agent needs to have gone through the RPL process by 31 December 2011, they hand in their POE at the eleventh hour on say 15 December 2011, then the 2 year automatic extension would run from that date, until 15 December 2013. If however an agent gets their act together in the next year say and hands their POE in on 15 June 2009, and is assessed not competent, then the extension applies from the 15 June 2009 until 15 June 2011.

- So what I just want to make clear is that if you were to go through the RPL process in a year’s time and “fail” or on the new terms “be assessed not competent”,  you couldn’t then say well I’ll give it a break for a while and rely on the automatic 2 year extension kicking in from the end of December 2011 which is the final date for completing the RPL process and handing in the Portfolio of Evidence. The 2 year extension kicks in from when you first handed in your POE.

5) What if I as an existing agent practicing for 20 years do not go through the recognition of prior learning process because I cannot be bothered? Can I still operate as an agent and if so, what limitations will be imposed on me?

- Obtaining the new qualification is compulsory and without it, by a certain date, being 31 December 2011, you are out of the game if you have not gone through the RPL process and handed in your POE. The Regulations do provide for an extension of this deadline on “reasonable grounds.” What is reasonable may depend on the circumstances and could be anyone’s guess. If medically someone was rendered unfit for a lengthly period of time and needed an extension, that is obviously a reasonable ground, on a specific criterion. A general ground for an extension which the Board may well need to rely on is the fact that not enough time has been allocated to have all these existing agents, or at the very least half of them,  RPL’d by that date. There is a need to get all the infrastructure in place still. The process may well bottle neck and an extension be necessary closer to the time. The legislation has vested the Board with the discretion to decide on whether an extension is necessary.

6) Where can I go for help in being RPL’d?

- If you wish to get underway with your RPL programme now, there is The Assessment Centre for Estate Agents here in Cape Town, headed up by Vivien Marks who has been in the game for many years and previously headed up The Institute For Estate Agents. To our knowledge there is only one other RPL Centre in the country at the moment, operating in Jhb.

- It is very important to consider the credibility of the RPL Centre that will start popping up all over the place quite soon.

They must:

1) Be accredited with Services Seta;
2) Have adequate course material;
3) Require the learner to compile over a reasonable period of time a Portfolio of Evidence that will cover all of the required unit standards;
4) Employ or contract facilitators to guide the learner through the process step by step;
5) Employ or contract assessors who are registered for this purpose with Services Seta and who have an in depth knowledge of the estate agent training curriculum;
6) Base its RPL program on the correct qualification unit standards, not the old curriculum or anything other than the prescribed NQF Level 4 and 5 qualifications.

7) Will it cost me to be RPL’d?

- To the best of our knowledge, The Assessment Centre is charging R5000 for the procedure but we believe government grants have been made available for certain persons. Rather establish the cost directly with a RPL Centre like Vivien’s above.

8) Will I be treated as an existing agent if I wrote and passed the exam last year, but have not yet applied for my fidelity fund certificate? Or,  what if I have applied and paid for my fidelity fund certificate but am waiting on it like many other agents, due to the current backlog?

- If you have not applied for your Fidelity Fund Certificate we suggest you do so immediately and keep proof thereof. You would fall into the existing agent category so you would need to go through the RPL process; however, given that you would not have held a fidelity fund certificate for 5 years continuously prior to 15 July 2008, you will have to write the exam, as prescribed for new agents entering the profession after 15 July 2008. 

- Last year’s August exam was supposed to be the very last of the old regime; however, the Board has seen fit to have one last exam on the old material and that is on the 10th of July 2008. So the obvious question arises, how will I be treated if I rush off now and go and write that exam. Much like those that wrote in August, if you pass it, you will fall into the existing agent category and you will go through the RPL process but will have to write the new exam, having not held a fidelity fund certificate for 5 years. 

- There is nothing preventing someone who falls into the existing agent category from electing to rather do the course and then write the exam. Presumably it will not be necessary for them to also do the 12 month internship, as required for new entrants to the industry, however the Regulations have not dealt with this issue.

9) What if I am 6 months into my internship already? Will I be treated as an existing agent?

This is not clear. You have not yet qualified as an agent under the old criteria and you are still actually in the process of that which has been interrupted in a way by the new Regime. I think that you might well fall into the new agent category and would not have the option of going through the RPL process. You would have to study for the NQF Level 4 Certificate, write the PDE exam and finish out the 6 months of your internship. What also convinces me that this is how they will treat this scenario is because to give a more radical example, if it were the case that such a person would be treated as an existing agent who could be RPL’d and write the exam, then similarly, someone could rush off now and register an internship, to qualify as an existing agent and fall into the RPL and exam category, not needing to then finish out the internship. What may be more tricky is someone who completes their internship on 1 August 2008, just 2 weeks after the implementation of this new law. Strictly speaking they are not yet qualified agents as of the implementation date of 15 July 2008 but perhaps the Board would on motivation accept such a person as a candidate for the RPL program and exam. I would think they would.

10) Can my principal or MD assess my competency levels in order to be considered RPL’d?

- Not at all. Only qualified assessors registered with Services Seta with in depth knowledge of the estate agent training curriculum can do so in the framework of a RPL Centre.

11) What is the Continuing Professional Education requirement that has been spoken about?

- The draft regulations mentioned the requirement of continuing professional education for agents to remain in the game and that they would not be issued with a fidelity fund certificate if they did not obtain the necessary credits indicating that further education had been obtained, subsequent to qualifying.  Much like what doctors have to do or those in the financial sector. (Not applicable to us attorneys luckily!) - A kind of topping up and maintaining of your knowledge and qualification.

- There was apparently a lot of debate on this issue in political circles and it was felt that to include this provision was too harsh on the industry. This requirement has been left out of the final regulations and it has been left to the Board’s discretion as when and how to impose it. It will be introduced and monitored by the Board. What is contemplated, if the Board sees fit to introduce it, is a gathering of credits by the agent over a continuous 3 year period or rolling cycle. If you haven’t obtained a certain number of credits in that period then you would not be issued with a fidelity fund certificate and might need to write the PDE again. But no rules and regulations have been made on this issue yet.

12) So similarly, if you leave the industry for 5 years to go overseas or have kids, after having been properly qualified in terms of these new Regulations, what then?

- You will never lose your qualification and until the Board introduces the Continuing Professional Education, you can simply get back into the game by paying your fee for the fidelity fund certificate; however, it is likely that the Board may well in time (and once everyone has digested the initial blow of the new Regulations!) introduce this credits and points system so as to maintain the standard and integrity of the profession which has been a central motivation to the bringing about of this new dispensation in the first place.

13) Who will monitor whether agents are operating with fidelity fund certificates or not. What about our role as attorneys? Discuss

14) What will Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes offer ?

- We are investigating the possibility of setting up an RPL Centre of our own through the training arm of our business, Igqwetha Training Academy. It will however take some time before the official evaluation and accreditation process is complete whereafter we can open our doors to applicants wanting to get onto our programme. There is a lot of red tape to cross and a while to go before we get there but watch this space!

15) Even if I only intend to go through the RPL process in about a year or so, what should I do in the meantime?

- See attached list of requirements for putting together a Portfolio of Evidence.  It is much like putting together a CV. Gather all the relevant information you receive, make notes of your tricky deals and how you handled them, gather e-mails sent giving advice, addenda drawn, gather all your marketing material, gather our Newsflashes and Thoughts for the Week, our legal update notes, etc. When ready- and there is still time- enrol with an RPL Centre, hopefully through ourselves.