The Education and Manpower Bureau has approved in principle the inclusion of estate agency as one of the industries to benefit from the government's Skills Upgrading Scheme. Curriculum planning and coordination work are being undertaken by a working party with a membership that largely consists of practitioners. Upon approval of funding, the secretariat of the Steering Committee on the Skills Upgrading Scheme will invite educational and vocational training institutions to organise the courses. Courses are to be mounted in accordance with the working party's guidelines and certificates will be issued to course participants subject to their passing of assessment tests. The courses will be financed by the government in the main and participants will shoulder only about 20% of the cost.

The courses now under consideration are expected to cover a wide variety of fields, including the use of English and Putonghua, computer application and data input, the use of the internet in agency business, mortgages, quality customer service, property sales techniques, laws pertaining to property transaction with case studies, as well as supervisory skills. Courses will vary in duration from three to 35 hours. Open to all residents of Hong Kong but with priority for estate agency practitioners, the courses are primarily intended for those with an educational attainment not above Form 5 and there are no age restrictions.

A number of panels have been formed under the working party to facilitate the effective implementation of the scheme. Mr William Fung, Chairman of the Training Committee of the EAA, is a member of the working party and the convenor of the curriculum panel. Mrs Grace Chow, Chief Executive Officer, also joined the working party at the invitation of the Education and Manpower Bureau and is the convenor of the panel on instructors and course quality control.