Your IndustryApr 2 2020

How to study in quarantine

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      How to study in quarantine

      Advisers hoping to use the current lockdown to brush up on their learning will have realised the ideals of quiet learning are far away from the reality. 

      Not only do most advisers have a full-time business to run and clients to contact, but also now have the family hanging around. 

      Apart from stir-crazy teens complaining ‘there’s no food in the house’, there have already been limits on library access, test centres, external training courses and seminars.

      Amid the negative news stories, the lockdown and the postponement of exams, students are finding it difficult to stay motivated

      And just when everything moved online and advisers carried on with virtual learning, some examinations have been postponed.

      Key Points

      • Some adviser examinations have been postponed
      • There are tips for studying at home
      • It is a good time to consider taking courses that need no human interaction

      For example, Jane King, director and adviser at Ash-Ridge, says she had intended to use some of the additional time to study for her long-term care exam, although it was hard to do this “enthusiastically” since these had been put back til October.

      And even some of those exams that moved online at the start of the UK’s action to ‘flatten the corona curve’ have now been cancelled.

      The Chartered Insurance Institute had originally postponed written exams, due to be sat in April, but advised its online examinations would go ahead at pre-booked centres, as there were less than 25 candidates at each sitting.

      But after the clampdown on congregations, the CII confirmed all online exams would now be cancelled until the end of April as a result of the increasing spread of the coronavirus. The body said dates were currently available for re-booking in June of this year.

      Amid the negative news stories, the lockdown and the postponement of exams, students are finding it difficult to stay motivated.

      Alam Zaib is a do-it-yourself student. He has been paying for his own investment management certificate studies, with the hope of a job in investment advice at the end of it.

      He says he wants to move into financial services but, without the backing of a big company behind him to supply course material, provide remote training material or pay for the course during this Covid-19 crisis, he has been finding it really tough. 

      “I’m currently studying towards completing my IMC and I was planning to sit it in May.

      “However, the local library has closed down due to the virus. So I have no idea when I will able to continue with my studies,” Mr Zaib says.

      However, it is vital to keep your eyes on the end goal.

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