What Makes a Reputable Training Provider For Your Real Estate Course?
Deciding on who to study your course with can be an overwhelming decision. Knowing the following 6 key things to look for will help you make the right decision and study with a caring, supportive, ethical and solid training provider. Who should you choose?
- What service and support do they provide?
It’s easy for organisations to promise they offer service and support, but do they really? Look at an organisation from when you first contact them to the end of your studies – How do they engage with you? Are they personable, professional and helpful? Do you have all the answers you need? What assistance will they provide you throughout the course?
Beware of cheap providers who promise service but fall short when it comes to delivering on that service.
At Validum Institute we see a number of students who come to us after going to cheaper training providers telling us they were promised support throughout the course, however received none or received it extremely late, making their course a lot longer than anticipated. We believe that learning should be personal, professional and straight forward. Not only do we pride ourselves on our excellence in customer service, we make it our mission for our students to succeed.
- How simple and short is the course to complete?
Similarly to service, it is easy for providers to say their course is quick and easy to complete, but is it really?
Many in-class training providers promise the course to be delivered in a few days. However, did you realise you must then complete assessments in your own time at home? This can add a significant amount of time to the completion of your course and if you don’t have the adequate support to assist you through your assessments, you may find it very hard to complete.
Ask questions about how the course will be delivered online is very important. What format are the questions? Will you be required to use a printer? Can you study any part of the course at any time? Again, we have seen a number of our students say they failed to complete their course with other training providers due to the difficult way it was structured online.
Validum students who have enrolled with other training providers in the past all compliment us on our easy to use online learning portal. Students can call during business hours and talk directly to a trainer and assessor for course support and advice. You can also come into our student lounge and work one-on-one with a trainer and assessor. We also understand that technology is not everyone’s friend. We not only have excellent tutorials on using our online portal, but will also personally sit down with our students, if required, to show them how to use our simple and easy to use learning portal.
- Check Online Reviews & Testimonials
So how do you check that your training provider actually delivers what they promise? Simple…. Look at their social media reviews.
Google Reviews and Facebook Reviews are the quickest and easiest way to confirm a provider’s reputation in training. We recommend you look at the number of reviews the provider has and pay attention to the dates of the reviews and the comments. Look for consistent messages and common themes to easily identify what makes the organisation different from other providers.
Beware of providers who do not allow people to leave reviews on their social media channels or have minimal reviews.
Validum’s large number of positive Google and Facebook reviews is evidence that our personal, flexible and student-focussed approach to real estate training is noticed by our students. Validum Institute prides itself on making sure we meet our students’ needs. Our students go out of their way to leave great comments and reviews purely because they loved studying with us.
Check out our Facebook Reviews HERE
Check out our Google Reviews on your mobile device HERE
Check out our Google Reviews on your desk top or laptop HERE
- BEWARE – price isn’t everything
What may seem cheap for the same course can be deceiving. Do your research – be sure you are learning not only from the best, but a provider with high ethics and good quality learning materials.
- Don’t get caught with a provider who shuts up shop leaving you out of pocket and qualification
- Don’t get caught with a provider who once they have your money doesn’t care if you complete the course or not
- Don’t get caught with no personal support or service during the course
- Don’t get caught with poor or complicated training materials or learning platforms
- How many students are repeat or referred students?
This is a great indicator – Ask how many previous students have undertaken upgrade courses with the same provider. Also ask how many new students are referred directly from graduated students of the provider. This is also a good indicator of student satisfaction.
Did you know that more than 40% of Validum Institute’s students are repeat students or have been referred by past students? This is one of the greatest compliments any training provider can ask for.
- Check the registration of your training
It is always a good idea to ask the training provider for its Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Number. All RTOs are required by the Federal Government to be registered and regulated by ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority).
You should ask when was the RTO’s last ASQA audit and how did they go? This information is important as it helps you understand the quality and compliance track record of the training provider. By knowing that a provider has been recently audited, with little or no non-compliance, provides reassurance of the quality of training you will receive.
Validum Institute was audited by ASQA in late 2017. We received zero non-compliance and passed our audit with flying colours. We understand we are one of very few real estate RTOs who received a clean pass at audit. You can be assured if you study with Validum Institute, you are with an organisation that does the right thing and who will be around for the long run.
You should also look for the Nationally Recognised Training Logo. This means that you will be recognised nationally across Australia for the units you have studied. Look for this logo below on training providers’ website.
All courses at Validum Institute are Nationally Recognised.
Thinking of doing a real estate course and want exceptional service; a simple to use learner portal; and dedicated one-on-one assistance from trainers and assessors? Call Validum Institute today on (07) 3193 5270 to start your real estate journey to success.
