Mandatory continuing education activities INFORMATIVE AND INDISPENSABLE The OACIQ is constantly developing new continuing education activities. Why are they necessary? What’s coming in future? Read on to find out. A SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD If you were a broker in 2010, you were required to attend the first mandatory continuing education session under the new Real Estate Brokerage Act. This six-hour session was based on concrete cases, to help brokers familiarize themselves with their new professional environment. This tone and approach, based on the reality of our constantly-evolving profession, have not failed since. The success of our 2012 session on new forms, our first online activity, is evidence of this: a total of 16,813 brokers obtained their continuing education units (CEU) after attending this session! The session on Pyrrhotite achieved the same success: most of brokers for whom it was mandatory attended the training. A COMMON VISION You are a professional in your field and proud to be? The reason why OACIQ invests so much effort in continuing education is precisely to help you remain a professional and continue to be perceived as such by your clients. This goal is at the heart of every OACIQ action, because the best way to protect the public is to make sure that broker knowledge and skills are consistent, current, and high-quality. It’s in everyone’s best interest, and stakeholders in the field of real estate understand this. The Real Estate Summit in February 2012 marked a turning point; on this occasion, the OACIQ invited some 100 partners to sit down together in order to reflect on the future of real estate brokerage in Québec and define the best strategies to ensure its continued success. Six strategic directions emerged from this process, which is ongoing and aims to establish a common service offer that is both consistent and distinctive. The mandatory education activities presented by the OACIQ this fall are the result of these efforts. Our profession is constantly evolving. This is why it is necessary to institute a mandatory and consistent basic training program, and also why other continuing education activities will be offered in future. These requirements are there to guarantee your future success. No one can predict the future, but we can all agree on this: increasingly, successful brokers will be those who are dedicated, meticulous and cooperative experts, who earn their reputation with the public because they understand that competence, knowledge, communication, collaboration and trust are assets. MARK YOUR CALENDARS TRAINING SESSION: THE AGENCY EXECUTIVE OFFICER: MORE THAN A DIRECTOR This mandatory continuing education session is for any licence holder who qualifies as agency executive officer. It will be presented live throughout Québec from October 28 to December 19, 2013. This 5-hour session will be worth 5 CEUs. TRAINING SESSION: COLLABORATION, THE VERY ESSENCE OF REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE This online mandatory continuing education session must be attended by all licence holders between October 15 and November 30. Agency executive officers may complete it two weeks prior, as of October 1, in order to be ready to provide support to their brokers. The session lasts two hours and counts for two CEUs. EDUCATION ACTIVITIES FOR A PROMISING PROFESSIONAL FUTURE Following this logic in which everybody wins, new mandatory continuing education sessions will be introduced starting this fall. They are the result of the decisions of two working groups created at the Real Estate Summit. One session will cover all aspects of collaboration in real estate transactions, and the other will deal with the daily challenges of an agency executive officer. The future of our great profession begins with skills maintenance. Everyone understands how important this is. It’s up to you! Profession Broker September 2013 12 Profession Broker September 2013 13