Jordan Tetreau
Real Estate Development Certificate
When he first began taking courses toward Continuing Education's Real Estate Development Certificate, Jordan Tetreau was living in Kelowna, B.C., and flying or driving into Calgary for his classes.
Jordan's fiancé had been accepted into the combined MD/PhD program at U of C, so he knew he would be settling in Calgary. Since he was already making regular trips to the city while he wound down his real estate career in Kelowna, he decided to enrol in the Real Estate Development Certificate program in hopes that it could help him fast-track into the local real estate industry.
Already equipped with a marketing diploma and eight years of experience as a realtor, he was in a good position to establish his career in Alberta. When he spotted an ad online for a Calgary builder, he applied, and highlighted the Real Estate Development Certificate program on his resume.
"Being a student in the program absolutely helped me get my first position, especially since the employer was already familiar with it," says Jordan, who made his start in Calgary as a sales associate, before moving up to director of sales and marketing.
"My employer appreciated the connections I developed in my classes," he says. "Hands down – for me – the most valuable component of the course is the connections I've made. The networking in this program is great. I still stay in touch with some of the other students."
Jordan completed the program in two and a half years, but has continued to take other courses that are offered.
"All of the courses I've taken have been helpful in my work. The marketing component is very current, and the planning course helped me understand the planning processes in Alberta, so that was very useful," he says.
"Taking the program has worked out really well for me. I got great insight into the field, and met influential people, especially through the speaker series. The speakers who came to class were real titans of industry!"
"I was also impressed with the calibre of instructors in this program. Their examples were relevant and their scope of work often included current projects. It was all very valuable learning."
Jordan's most recent career-move was to set out on his own and launch a commercial construction business.
"Certainly, the connections I made in the program and the knowledge I gained helped give me the confidence I needed to go out on my own."