Are you looking to start a new career in Estate Agency? Find out how Darien joined the Industry.

My names Darien Neavin, and I have written a few other blogs for Fishneedwater.

I am currently the only apprentice at Fishneedwater. I work full time and I feel I play quite a big role in the everyday running on the business. Most of my friends are in college and have embarked on A level’s in subjects they generally enjoyed in school.

I was aware of apprenticeships whilst at school and firstly left school to be on a scholarship/apprenticeship scheme for Charlton Athletic Football Club.

Due to a mixture of reasons I chose to quit professional football and do something I felt I’d enjoy.

Property has always been something I wished to invest in, so I decided to work in and around the selling and letting of property. However it wasn’t an easy decision and it required pain-staking amount of thought and time.

When doing my research I found that an apprenticeship is a structured training programme which literally, gives you the opportunity to work towards qualification.

They are designed to help you gain and expand on the skills and knowledge you need to prosper in your chosen industry, although the qualifications aren’t A-levels they are industry specific.

I think that is great as at least the qualification will state that you are aware and able to do what the role in your industry requires you to do, unlike an open qualification in history or geography.

It also looked like a great opportunity to be able to get  into employment earlier than the average person and for me it means there’s lots of potential for you to progress in your career quickly.

Another side to this coin is that by starting to work earlier you can begin to earn a good wage earlier than you might have anticipated.

After experiencing an apprenticeship format and doing some research I definitely feel apprenticeships give you invaluable experience in the working world, which I feel show employers that you are able to ‘hit the ground running’.

Practical training gives you a tangible chance to put your skills into practice and should assist in you gaining more confidence in a working environment – this coupled with a supportive employer and structures in place to aid you is fabulous.

I also think it’s fabulous that you earn while you learn. What an incentive! Also you don’t take on any debts, you aren’t required to take out a student loan and you won’t incur any tuition fees.

You are paid a salary by your employer, and the government usually cover the cost of the training for most young apprentices. I feel the fact that you are paid and trained should give you an added sense of security.

In summary, I think it goes without saying that going to college can also pose loads of advantages for a young person and more in-depth studying can be extremely beneficial. I could have easily gone to college as well; I achieved 10 GCSE’s when leaving school and would consider myself intelligent. However I do definitely feel the opportunity to do an apprenticeship is one that you can definitely capitalise on.

You can find apprenticeship in several industries and if applying for an apprenticeship is of an interest to you: www.apprenticeships.org.uk is a great website for finding out about and applying for apprenticeships.

I am currently studying for my ARLA Lettings and Management certification and I have also joined in valuable in house training sessions based around simplified NLP strategies, which I have since learned is Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Maybe an apprenticeship can help you to find a way into a career in estate agency and the sales industry.  We’re always selling after all.