Propertymark Qualifications Awards 2019 Winners

Posted by Votta Sales & Lettings on 28th October 2019 -

The winners of the Propertymark Qualifications Awards were announced on 23 October, celebrating learners and those who commit to their professional development.

With an exclusive ceremony taking place at the House of Lords. the awards saw property agents from across the UK travel to London to see if they had won a much-coveted award.

The awards were split into two main categories, the achievement category, and the nomination category. The achievement category awards those who achieve the highest marks across their examination units for their chosen subject, with three awards available for a Lettings Candidate, Sales Candidate, and Auctioneering candidate.

The nomination categories could only be won by those whose colleagues, employer or employees had put them forward for the award, with the winners being chosen by a panel of experts.

The event was attended by nominees, their guests, and industry leaders, and was presented by Lord Best OBE DL, NAEA Propertymark Chief Executive Mark Hayward and ARLA Propertymark Chief Executive David Cox. Together they commended the finalists and the standards they were setting for the industry and made mention of the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA), of which Lord Best chaired the working group, reiterating how important regulation will be the industry.

Lord Best said: "Estate agents should embrace becoming ‘genuine professionals’ on a par with solicitors, surveyors, and architects as direct regulation of the industry looms. The next generation want to be recognised as ‘professionals’, and therefore, it’s a very positive move to have a regulator who will ensure that anyone who wants to be an estate agent is properly licensed, has attained the correct qualifications and signs up to a code of practice whether they are companies or individuals.”

The winners

Those who took home a trophy encapsulated the variety of learners who dedicate themselves to their professional development, from newcomers to the industry, to senior staff with years of experience, it was clear that property agents of all walks of life are committing to higher standards.

Lettings Candidate of the Year

The winner of Lettings Candidate was Katie Wilcox-Smith, achieving the highest marks in her qualification of a Level 3 Award in Residential Letting and Property Management. Competition for this award was close, with five people nominated overall. The other finalists were Holly Braithwaite of Bridgfords Lettings, Ryan Letley, Tania Marshall of Bradleys Estate Agents and Natasha Sanchez of Grosvenor Billinghurst.

Sales Candidate of the Year

The winner of Sales Candidate was Sean Rawson, who achieved top marks across all units in his Level 3 Award in Sale of Residential Property. The other finalists were Janet Edwards, Angela Gillibrand of Symonds & Sampson, Theo Smith, and Ben Sykes.

Auctioneering Candidate of the Year

Erroll Thomas of Auction Boutique won the Auctioneering Candidate of the Year award, for top marks in his Level 3 Award in Real Property Auctioneering. The other finalists were Llion ap Dylan Davies of Morgan & Davies, Alexander Haigh and Lewis Proudley of Proudley Associates.

Rising Star

This year’s Rising Star award ended with a twist, as two winners were announced. The judging panel agreed that the standard of entrant was so high, that picking just one winner was too difficult. The winners were Heather Fraser of The Property Store EK, and Laura Young of Pat Robson & Co.

The winners had demonstrated good practice and innovation in the ways they work and were eager to utilise the skills gained from their qualification in the workplace. The other finalists were Nadia Aghtarafi of YourNXTDoor and Laura MacCallum of Bell Ingram LLP.

Employer Champion of the Year

Given to a business or director that is committed to the development of their staff, this year’s winner was Williams & Goodwin The Property People. They won after an employee praised their commitment to personal development, career building, coaching and mentoring for staff; as well as supporting them in gaining their Level 3 Propertymark Qualifications. The other finalists were Balgores Lettings, Western Lettings, and Pinnacle PSG.

Learner of the Year

The highest accolade at the Propertymark Qualifications Awards, this is awarded to a learner who has overcome adversity and persevered to develop themselves and excel in their role. The winner was Florence Bond of George Durrants and Sons. Florence had changed her mind from studying a degree to instead deciding to work in an estate agency and gain her qualification alongside her employment. She is now an assistant manager and even had a role created especially for her by her employer. The other finalists were Kadie Blezard of Your Move, Megan Eighteen of Davis Tate, Katie Fitzgerald of Securelets at Jeremy & Co and Jelena Litosa of Litonics Homes.

Lifelong Achievement

This special award honours an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to property education, training, and development throughout their career and has committed to improving and upholding professional standards in the industry. This year the award was presented to David Hughes, who has a long history of working as a property agent and chartered surveyor, but went on to become a senior lecturer in surveying and was instrumental in the development of not only the Propertymark Qualification, but also the study workbooks used by so many learners to support their learning. He still helps write and edit the many study workbooks for Propertymark Qualifications today.

Propertymark Qualifications

Mike Smith, Head of Propertymark Qualifications said: “We’ve seen the highest calibre of learners being put forward for the awards this year, which made picking winners a challenge. We’re immensely proud of all our finalists for their dedication to their career progression and to their learning. Commit the names of all our winners and finalists to memory, as they are the ones who will be setting the standard for the industry going forward.

With the regulation of property agents looking inevitable, we anticipate more agents will look to become qualified and raise standards even further. I imagine that the awards will become even harder to judge in the future, as we see even more qualified candidates being put forward.”