Real Estate Board to host public forum on continuing professional development
KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Real Estate Board (REB) will be hosting a public forum on Thursday (September 7) on its new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirement for real estate professionals.
The event will take place at the Girl Guide Association of Jamaica headquarters located at 2 Waterloo Road in Kingston (beside Devon House) and is targeting persons involved in the Real Estate profession in Jamaica.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the board, Sandra Watson-Garrick, said that the forum is to provide information about the changes in the industry as well as the new skills and competencies required.
“Changes will happen in any industry and (professionals) have to keep abreast of those changes. Sometimes, if you’re not knowledgeable, you will pass on the wrong information to the public,” she said.
“So, the whole idea of the workshop is to make the industry understand why we have to go the route of professional development. How they would sell real estate in the past they are not doing that anymore. Now you are marketing through social media. You are also doing so within a context of higher security risks,” she noted further.
The Real Estate Board introduced the CPD courses through its Real Estate Training Institute in May 2017.
These courses are being offered in preparation for the 2018/2019 licensing year, which starts April 1, 2018.
Practitioners will be required to do at least 20 hours of such courses every two years, which will consist of mandatory and optional courses for dealers, salesmen and developers.
Mandatory courses will contribute eight hours while the remaining 12 hours will come from optional courses.
Watson-Garrick is encouraging practitioners to register early for the training courses.
She said the board must see some evidence that training has started in order to renew licences for 2018/2019.
For further information persons may contact the Real Estate Board/Commission of Strata Corporations at 24 Trafalgar Road, Kingston 10, call 926-9746 -9, or visit their website at www.reb.gov.jm.
