By the very nature of their profession, real estate agents are busy people, so when it comes to pursuing further study, the traditional process can be prohibitive.
Often, those embarking on the completion of their full licence already have successful careers, and in many cases have worked in the real estate industry for some time.
And that can leave students with two possible barriers – studying subjects they already know (and wasting precious time), or requiring support from others, but finding no one available when they finally have time to sit down and hit the books.ย
Thatโs where Entry Education comes in.
Seven years ago, the Entry Education team identified a gap in the market – the provision of high quality real estate education, delivered outside the traditional model, to enable professionals to access support when they needed it.ย
โWe had identified a small gap in the market where traditional education was more of a one size fits all approach,โ partner Cale Morton explained.
โWe wanted to focus on support and developing tailored training programs specifically for the real estate agents partaking in the course.โ
While online education isnโt new, Entry Education has taken a unique approach to combat the dismay often felt by real estate agents regarding support and direct communication.ย
Mr Morton said the key part of Entry Educationโs service offering was one-on-one support, anytime, anywhere.
โIt’s reaching out and being accessible to students, whether thatโs outside of business hours or even on the weekends, not having them email you back within a couple of days,โ he said.
โWeโll go and visit our students, one-on-one, at their office or workplace, or wherever they might need us to really develop that relationship with them. Thatโs what makes the difference.โ
Unique to Entry Education is its personal approach to learning. The courses offered are by no means cookie-cutter; in fact theyโre specifically tailored to cater to the needs of the individual agent completing the course.
To achieve that, the Entry Education team speaks with each applicant personally, to identify exactly what theyโre looking for.
For many Entry Education students, that core need is obtaining a full licence – a critical step for any real estate professional.ย
โA full licence allows you to list and sell independently, whereas the entry level qualification restricts you in some of your activities,โ Mr Morton said.ย
โAt some point, real estate professionals are going to take the next step as an agent.
โSo whether that’s in four months, six months or 18 months, we encourage people to take that step and become fully qualified, and build their own credentials and personal brand.โ
According to Mr Cale, prior to Entry Educationโs entry into the market, the real estate industryโs education sector had remained old-fashioned in its delivery, and out of touch in terms of support.ย
โIt was old school in a sense, where education was boring. It wasnโt fun. It was just something that was required.
โSo we wanted to take those requirements, and allow real estate agents to customise our courses to create something thatโs both achievable and fulfilling.โ
So if an agent can prove they have experience or sufficient knowledge in a particular area, Entry Education will give them credit for that, meaning they donโt have to complete unnecessary assessment tasks.
โWe review every agent’s portfolio of experience individually and credit what they already know or have experience in,โ Mr Morton said.
โWe can have two agents from the same office completing a full licence course at the same time, but they’ll actually have totally different units to complete.โ
And that support and relationship building extended beyond the life of the course, Mr Morton said.ย
In fact, Entry Education prides itself on its relationship with real estate agents after theyโve completed their course. Itโs why the organic growth of the business has been fuelled by word of mouth referrals.ย
โAfter agents complete their course, to become fully qualified real estate agents working in the industry, we often keep in contact, have catch-ups and maintain the relationship with them.
โThose agents then go on to become advocates for Entry Education – most of our business comes from referrals, often from agents who have come through two or three years earlier.โ
Entry Education also offers CPD training for agents who are required to complete this in NSW.ย
For NSW agents looking to complete their Class 2 or Class 1 Licences, Entry Education offers a variety of processes that allows agents to complete in a timely manner – Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice CPP41419 and Diploma of Property โ Agency Management CPP51119ย