For John Cunningham, the journey towards higher education standards in the real estate industry is not defined by a beginning or an end. 

The Cunninghams Real Estate Director was awarded the President's Award at the REIA Awards for Excellence held in Perth last week for his work as chairman of REIA Professional Committee and as a driving force behind the Pathway to Professional program.

Having first started the initiative in NSW five years ago, the former president of REINSW has been working for the last two years to establish a national professional standards scheme with the professional standard councils of Australia.

With an announcement regarding the program expected to be made in the coming months, Mr Cunningham reflected on the progress that had been made so far. 

"I've been on the board of REINSW for 14 years, so it's been a work in progress throughout that time," he said.

"We had a training reform package approved in NSW last year, which was a four -year exercise.

"The last two years has been about getting all our ducks lined up across the different states to work out how the new scheme will be rolled out."

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Mr Cunningham with REIA President Adrian Kelly

The training package approved by both houses of NSW Parliament last year means certificate of registration holders must acquire a licence within four years of entering the industry.

The requirements for a certificate of registration are also set to increase, while a Licensee in Charge (Class 1) licence will be required for anyone working as a licensee in charge of a business. 

In order to apply for a Licensee in Charge licence, a person will need to have two years’ work experience and must have also completed a diploma from the National Property Services Training Package.

Mr Cunningham said the Pathway to Professionalism program will require everyone who enters the industry to have a diploma-level qualification.

"They'll need to have a minimum standard of experience and show they are capable of performing to the ethics and standards that a professional would espouse to have," he said.

"There'll be a lot of agents who will find it very easy to do because they are already performing at that standard, and there might be others who won't be bothered to do it because it is too hard.

"It's not for everyone, just for those who take their career seriously and want to move to the next level."

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