The Sector Skills Council for the places where we live and work
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Case study - December 2011
Amid a turbulent jobs market for young people, it is hard to imagine anything positive happening at all. But for one 17-year-old, hard work and determination have already reaped huge rewards.
Charlotte Cooper, from Nuneaton, decided 
against college and university and chose a vocational path into estate agency. From the outset, she was advised to seek a professional qualification and the Apprenticeship in Property, developed by Asset Skills in consultation with employers, seemed the obvious choice.
She secured a place with the Bloom Apprenticeship Academy for Estate and Letting Agents in Birmingham. The intensive course blended formal learning at a training centre with assessment at her place of work, Alan Cooper Estates. Apprentices take rigorous exams in every aspect of estate agency culminating in the highly regarded NFoPP (National Federation of Property Professionals) Technical Award in the Sale of Residential Property, and an ABBE NVQ Level 3 Diploma demonstrating vocational competency.
After completing the programme, Charlotte was then accepted as an Associate Member of the Guild of Professional Estate Agents and a Member of the National Association of Estate Agents, with its prestigious licensed membership status - big achievements for one so young.
But the best part came when Charlotte became the 'UK Young Estate Agent of the Year 2011' at the Property Professional Show Awards. She celebrated at the Grosvenor House hotel in London where she received her award from BBC's The Apprentice star Jamie Lester (pictured with Charlotte).
As well as this award, she was also a finalist in the category of 'Sales Negotiator of the Year' in the 'Property Awards for Women 2011' held at Wembley Stadium in November.
