MAIN IMAGE: Cashel Harris – chief executive officer of Charter Academy, Janine Barry – founder of Mega Agent Sales Mastery, Gerhard Kotzé – chief executive officer of RealNet Holdings, Barry Fourie – national operations manager at Chas Everitt
Kerry Dimmer
Property practitioners operate in an environment where legislation, technology, consumer expectations, and market conditions continually evolve. Formal education provides a foundation, but agents also need practical skills, often taught by experienced estate agents, attorneys, conveyancers, valuers, and other property specialists.
Where do such courses fit alongside accredited qualifications, mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) requirements, and franchise training programmes? Equally important is how they are marketed, and whether attendees understand they are buying professional development rather than a formally recognised qualification or CPD activity.
Formal training: accredited education and recognised outcomes
Accredited training follows a structured educational framework, with defined learning outcomes and assessment requirements. It suits practitioners seeking a recognised qualification or formal educational progression, while specialist courses can complement this learning without necessarily providing the same recognition.
Cashel Harris, chief executive officer of Charter Academy, believes such independent, non-formal training by experienced professionals has a legitimate place alongside mandatory education.
“There is a huge amount of value in learning from people who have spent years working in the industry,” she says. “They can bring real situations, lessons learnt, and practical experience into a training environment in a way that is very difficult to replicate from theory alone.”
However, she notes that the outcomes differ. “An accredited programme leads to a formally recognised educational outcome and, depending on the programme, can also become a building block towards further learning. An experience-based course may offer excellent practical development, but it doesn’t automatically provide that same formal recognition.”
At the same time, Harris cautions against assuming learning has value only when it carries credits. A short session could help an agent improve negotiation skills, manage a difficult client conversation, or understand a particular aspect of a transaction.
“If someone has genuine expertise in a very specific area and can share knowledge that helps a property practitioner do their job better the next day, that is worthwhile learning,” she says. “Not everything needs to become a qualification.”
She says the problem arises when learners cannot distinguish between a specialist course, an accredited qualification, and recognised CPD. “There is absolutely room for all three, but the learner shouldn’t have to work out the difference afterwards.”
Independent specialist training: practical skills beyond the classroom
Independent training draws on a practitioner’s experience to address specific skills gaps and changing market demands. It can range from a short masterclass to a multi-day programme, focusing on practical application rather than a formal qualification.
Janine Barry, founder of Mega Agent Sales Mastery and owner of Janine Barry Property Group, was one of the founding broker-owners of RE/MAX of Southern Africa. She says she started her training business after identifying gaps in agents’ practical skills, and her programmes range from one-hour introductions to four-day courses. Since launching her masterclasses in June 2025, she says she has trained more than 2,600 agents.
“I was fascinated by the lack of skill sets and, let’s call it, passion, because knowledge creates passion in our business,” she says. “When you have the skills, and you have the knowledge, you do better.”
Barry believes agents must adapt to the many changes affecting the property market, particularly as property companies need to devote considerable time to legislation, contracts, compliance, and internal systems. She says this leaves less time to develop sales and interpersonal skills.
“I don’t train agents how to be an estate agent,” she says. “I train and educate agents to acquire the skill sets that help them serve their clients better on a higher level.”
Her courses offer certificates of attendance or completion, depending on the programme, but do not provide CPD points. She sees them as complementary to mandatory professional development. “There’s no conflict at all,” Barry says.
She follows up with participants after longer courses to assess how they apply what they have learnt, as she believes professional development doesn’t stop once an agent gains experience. “You can never, ever know it all, and you can never know enough,” says Barry.
In-house training: applying knowledge within a business
In-house training focuses on the systems, operating standards, brand expectations, and practical processes agents need to work effectively within a particular business. For franchise groups, it also helps establish consistency across offices while allowing practitioners to apply their local market knowledge.
Gerhard Kotzé, chief executive officer of RealNet Holdings, says the balance between internal training and external expertise depends on the business model and practitioners’ experience.
“A property group needs internal training capacity to take ownership of its brand knowledge, operating standards, and the support its people receive,” he says. “External providers bring valuable expertise, but the group remains responsible for helping its people apply that knowledge within its own business.”
Kotzé also notes that internal programmes must evolve as technology, systems, and industry practices change.
“There will always be a place for internal brand training,” he says. “My preference is for this knowledge to be shared by well-rounded franchise managers who have been successful property practitioners themselves and, ideally, have also run estate agencies.”
Training must also connect brand standards with daily operations, supported by accessible systems and resources. “The objective is a consistent, professional experience for the consumer while allowing our franchisees to bring their local knowledge and entrepreneurial strengths to their businesses,” Kotzé says.
He sees formal education, CPD, specialist courses, and brand-specific training as complementary, with the appropriate mix changing throughout a practitioner’s career.
“A group that recruits large numbers of new entrants needs to invest substantially in structured internal training and ongoing guidance,” he says. He adds that experienced practitioners often need more specialised input to refine their skills and respond to changing market conditions.
Barry Fourie, national operations manager at Chas Everitt, shares Kotzé’s view that in-house training complements accredited providers. He says the Chas Academy provides practical skills training alongside the group’s systems and standards, while accredited providers deliver formal qualifications.
“The two forms of learning reinforce each other,” Fourie says. “An agent may understand a principle in a classroom but gain much more confidence when an experienced practitioner shows how to apply it in a real conversation or transaction.”
Fourie says mentorship matters most for newcomers, who need support applying what they learn in real-world situations. “The greatest opportunity lies in consistent coaching and mentorship,” he says. “Training can teach an agent what to do, but a new agent also needs guidance while learning how to do it well.”
He encourages new entrants to look beyond online courses for regular, face-to-face guidance from an experienced practitioner, sales manager, or principal. He supports independent specialist training, provided the trainer is reputable and the content relevant.
“If an agent comes away better equipped to serve clients and conduct business professionally, that is valuable development,” Fourie says.
Transparency is key
Accredited education, independent specialist programmes, and in-house training each serve a purpose. The right combination depends on an agent’s experience, career objectives, and learning needs.
As Harris emphasises, it should be clear whether a course supports ongoing development or provides a recognised qualification or CPD points before anyone enrols. Non-accredited training can deliver genuine value, but its credibility depends on the trainer’s expertise, the relevance of the content, and transparency about what participants will receive.
