Regulation 31 Further Training and Study

In order to maintain appropriate standards of conduct and practice, an independent qualified conveyancer shall undertake relevant further training and study to develop his professional knowledge, skills and abilities including in particular, education and study in specific areas and topics, management skills and organisation, communication and client care skills, other areas relevant to the independent qualified conveyancers practice and any area designed to develop his ability to operate effectively as an independent qualified conveyancer.

The amount and nature of the relevant further training and study required by an independent qualified conveyancer in each practice year shall be determined in accordance with regulations 32 and 33 respectively.

An independent qualified conveyancer shall, within a period not exceeding 1 year from the date on which his name has been annotated on the register under section 17(7), attend a course on professional ethics and practice management provided by the Board.

An independent qualified conveyancer attending a course required by paragraph (3) above may include such training as part of his further training and study requirement for the practice year in which he attended the course.

For the purposes of this regulation and regulations 32 to 34–

• “practice year” means a year beginning on the first day of April and ending on the 31st day of the following March;

• “private study” means study undertaken by less than three persons together including without prejudice to the foregoing generality, distance learning by audio, visual, or correspondence courses, television and radio courses, and computer-based learning, the reading of relevant periodicals and books and writing relevant books or articles in periodicals or text books which are published;

• “group study” means study in a group of three or more people which lasts for a minimum of half an hour and includes without prejudice to the foregoing generality, discussion groups, tutorials, study meetings of special interest groups, workshops, seminars or courses whether provided in-house or by independent qualified conveyancer firms, groups of firms, the Board or any other provider;

• “management skills” includes, without prejudice to its generality, training in professional ethics, financial and business management, budget control, computer skills, foreign languages, interview techniques, setting priorities and time management.