Are qualifications and CPD necessary for a career in property management?
Are qualifications and CPD necessary for a career in property management?
Residential Property Management is a tricky business. Lots of communication between lots of people and ultimately affecting the home lives of people who live in blocks of apartments. Communal areas and the buildings themselves need to be taken care of and, if left up to residents to deal with, can lead to essential work not happening at all and standards slipping. Residential Property Managers have been around for decades, providing an essential service. It’s important that the right people do the job but is it really necessary to have qualifications to be able to perform the role of a Property Manager?
Is Property Management really that important anyway?
To answer this question, I think we need to look at what happens in a world without property management firms. And in order to take a look into that world, we just need to take a look at the issues happening in Scotland and the old style tenement blocks. Many of these mixed ownership sandstone buildings are not managed by professional property management teams. Instead, they are ‘self managed’, or, in other words, not managed at all. Resulting in the formation of a Scottish Parliamentary Working Group who’s task it is to find solutions to the ongoing complex issues in order to save these beautiful and iconic tenements. Of course, these issues could quite easily occur anywhere if buildings and grounds aren’t maintained or repaired. Without due care and attention apartment blocks become unsightly, often potentially dangerous.
What does successful Property Management look like?
Property Management isn’t just about maintaining roofs, lifts or gardens. It’s successful navigation of the ins and outs of client relationship management. It’s the ability to be highly organised, to meet deadlines, to juggle a variety of tasks, to adhere to regulations and ultimately to ensure everyone involved in the property management process is happy and satisfied with their living spaces. Successful property management isn’t down to luck. It takes a particular type of person to be able to take on the role.
What qualifications are available in the property management industry?
There are a variety of qualifications in the industry from a number of providers and professional bodies. From basic qualifications to CPD – there is something to suit all levels.
Entry level courses are provided via the City and Guilds vocational training where professionals and students can cho0se from two Housing and Property courses. Within this Built Environment Services faculty, there are also a range of other, complimentary courses that relate to the role of Property Manager – such as Facilities Management, Environmental Services and Energy Assessment and Advice.
https://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/built-environment-services#
In the Built Environment area there is a wide range of complimentary courses that would be suited to the skills of a Property Manager. These courses are available across a number of institutions n England, Scotland, Wales and NI. Courses that range from foundation level through to postgraduate.
As far as industry specific courses go, the place to look is of course the industry bodies themselves. The Institute of Residential Property Managers offer 0000. In England and Wales, the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) provide a fantastic range of training and development opportunities for their members including forward thinking and inspiring Tech Talks as well as training courses and webinars. The Property Manager’s Association Scotland PMAS) all provide a wide range of courses for Property Managers.
With such a wide range of courses available for Property Managers, those businesses who wish to exceed and excel in their field must consider the professional development of their team. And those wishing to enter the industry have to ensure they hit the ground running by gaining a suitable qualification. This will help them stand out in a very competitive and fast paced industry.
With more and more qualifications and training becoming available professionalism within the industry is ever increasing. Qualifications and training not only set standards, they raise standards – which can only be a good thing for what is a very customer and client focused industry. Knowledge and building that knowledge is also necessary for keeping up to date with industry regulations. And it’s worthwhile noting that Property Management is no longer just about maintaining and repairing buildings. This competitive market place is forever changing and evolving and continued professional development of those who work in the space is a must for Property Management firms who want to thrive.
