A young apprentice has secured the foundations of a career in estate agency. Lucy Davidson has been offered a full-time job as sales negotiator with JW Wood after completing her apprenticeship.
The 19-year-old, from Consett, said: “I was really pleased when I found out. I was called into the manager’s office and wondered what it was about. When I realised it was to offer me a full-time job, I couldn’t believe it. I am very grateful for such a good opportunity and am looking forward to learning more about the business.”
Working as a sales negotiator, Lucy will help many customers to find their dream home by arranging essential viewings and property valuations. “I enjoy building up a good rapport with customers by chatting to them and really try to find out exactly what they are looking for,” said Lucy. “It’s quite rewarding when customers do get their dream home as you can see how happy they are. It’s one of the best parts of the job, especially knowing that I have helped in some way to make it happen.”
Lucy completed a Level 2 NVQ in business administration with the North East Chamber of Commerce while gaining invaluable experience in the workplace and covering areas such as working in a team, customer service, communications and IT skills. Lucy’s interest in property runs in the family.
For her it dates back to a time when she was young and remembers talking to her two sisters and brothers about houses. “It’s my grandad who started this off in our family because he built his own house 25 years ago, which was quite a big thing for us then,” she said. “It is exciting to think that he did that. Who knows, one day I may build my own house too – that would be amazing.”
Branch manager Chris Clarkson said: “We are delighted to have Lucy on board. She is great with people and has been able to learn the business as she has been training. “The apprentice scheme is brilliant. It is beneficial to the company to train a young person from the start so they can learn the job the right way from those who are already doing it. “Lucy has a great work ethic and this makes a difference. She really does want to be here. It’s great to give her a chance and to watch her grow with us. We don’t have a high turnover of staff and hope she will stay with us for a long time.” Lucy added: “For me, being on the apprentice scheme was really worth doing. One day I would like to be a valuer, learning about the different types of property and helping vendors to bring them to the market.”
