Skills council tests IFA intern scheme
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The Financial Services Skills Council is piloting a six week IFA internship programme for university students in September.
FSSC chief executive Liz Field says the pilot will be conducted in London and possibly one regional area and will cost IFAs £1,600 plus travel.
Field says she hopes to recruit up to 60 students for a placement with an IFA.
She says: “This will be a paid internship where the employer will pay the intern but we will provide the framework for the programme. This is about getting IFAs to think about taking on graduates and passing on their skills.”
Field says if the pilot is successful, the FSSC will look for a third party to operate the programme in the future.
The skills council is building an apprenticeship framework for people who choose not to go to university but who want to study to become an IFA or a paraplanner.
The FSSC has also finalised its eight sector committees, which include financial planning, investment management and pensions, insurance, banks and building societies, accountancy and finance, plus committees for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The Red House managing director Gareth Marr, who is deputy chairman of the FSSC, will chair the financial planning committee.
Legal & General managing director of the unit trust business Simon Ellis, who is a former managing director of the skills council, will chair the investment management and pension committee.
The committees will meet twice a year to review the skills and recruitment needs of employers, with the first meetings due to take place in November.
Field says: “The committees will discuss what the key challenges facing the sector are, what employers need in terms of skills and training and what the FSSC can do to help with that. They will help to shape our strategy.”
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