OpinionJul 8 2020

The opportunity to try before you buy

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As I have often discussed in these columns, we need to get more people from all walks of life interested in financial advice.

Embarking on a new career, however, represents a huge life decision and it can be incredibly daunting to say the least, not to mention the potential training costs associated with it.

Even if someone has done lots of research it is impossible to know whether they will really take to it, until they have started.

There are huge pools of potential talent out there and we all need to ensure that financial advice makes the shortlist of future careers.

There are many people who finish university at barely 21 with little to no idea what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

The same can often be said for adults later in life. After a stint in the armed forces or a career break, it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what you want to do when looking at all the various professions available.

And now there are likely many people currently grappling with this issue, as through no fault of their own, the sectors they work in, such as travel or hospitality, have been decimated overnight by Covid-19.

There are huge pools of potential talent out there and we all need to ensure that financial advice makes the shortlist of future careers.

To help with that we want to ensure that anyone with an interest can test the waters without taking the full plunge.

Training

As such we have made all the training materials, we use in the first module (financial services, regulations and ethics, otherwise known as FSRE) free and available to all.

FSRE is the first of three modules needed to obtain the Level 4 qualification from the London Institute of Banking and Finance and is the first step for someone to become a UK financial adviser.

Whether they are a student, a recently furloughed adult, a mum looking to return to work or just someone with a passing interest, this could represent an ideal opportunity for them to try something new without having to make a full commitment.

There are many people who finish university at barely 21 with little to no idea what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

The financial planning profession is set to be resilient through what looks to be a challenging economic period. In fact, unlike many sectors, we need more entrants into the profession.

By opening aspects of our training up for free hopefully we can give all those people on the fence about a career in financial advice something to get their teeth stuck into.

Scott Stevens is director of recruitment and acquisitions for Quilter Financial Planning