Peter Bolton King – the CEO of the organisation – is pushing for a qualification that would be the equivalent of NVQ Level 3 (A level) and would cover health and safety, property law and property appraisal. The NAEA hopes that a nationally recognised qualification will help to weed out the cowboy operators that can set up without any experience or knowledge.

In the last eighteen months about 1000 estate agents have signed up for the technical award and the NAEA has started to offer a full diploma, which would be the equivalent of a foundation degree. It will be available on a distance learning basis and some of the larger estate agencies will develop in-house training departments.