Professional Adviser recently talked to the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI), Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), and London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF) about the most-passed adviser exams from 2019-2023.
Looking over the stats, in 2023 the industry’s average pass rate was 67.68%, but Courtiers has an average pass rate of 92%.
Daniel Bell, Head of Paraplanning, oversees the team where many of our financial trainees sit. Actively training and taking exams himself, he’s sure that the key to our high pass rate is the Courtiers Education Academy.
The Courtiers Education Academy
We developed the Courtiers Education Academy in conjunction with leading financial institutions, to help people starting out in Financial Services or wanting to develop their skills and a career in the industry.
Initiated in 2021, the programme places trainees in a working environment directly beside professionals with years of experience, allowing them to learn daily, either through hands-on work or observations and mentoring. This provides real world experience and qualified support, up-skilling individuals in all areas of the business.
The Education Academy provides structured learning pathways to full Chartered status, wherever you start the journey. Courses are carefully developed for trainee Advisers and Paraplanners wanting to obtain the CII Diploma in Financial Planning.
With flexible support available to encourage self-development along a chosen career path, the Academy provides a framework for continuous professional development using integrated work-based learning and specialist input from external training partners. Underpinning all training is the fact that the Courtiers Auditorium in Witney is an authorised CII exam centre.
What is so good about the Courtiers Education Academy?
Daniel believes that it is the work-based learning and mentorship is the key to why Courtiers has such a high success rate. With the support and discipline offered as part of the Academy, working alongside other trainees keeps employees motivated and lets them work together to enhance knowledge. While a lot of financial trainees must learn and train off their own back, in their own time, Courtiers employees train together in work time too.
The usual timescale for the learning pathway at Courtiers is 18 months, compared to the average two and a half years it usually takes to train alone. Plus, most of our Advisers and Paraplanners, even when they finish their certification, enhance their learning with continued professional development – not only a requirement for good practice but an active part of our employees’ day-to-day life.
Active learning
While we are proud of our 92% pass rate – especially knowing it’s almost 25% higher than the average pass rate in 2023 – we’re just as proud of the training we undertake that doesn’t produce such easily-available figures. Alongside our exams and training, Courtiers also hosts and promotes events such as the Knowledge Exchange. By consistently tailoring our teaching and focus across financial planning solutions, we ensure we keep our knowledge sharp, so you can benefit. With Courtiers staying up to date on all aspects that could affect your wealth, we can continue to guide and support your investments, financial planning and dreams.
