The only real measure of success for CAAMP’s new broker education course will be how many of those students actually remain in the channel and for how long, argues an industry vet and advocate for more-effective training.
The only real measure of success for CAAMP’s new broker education course will be how many of those students actually remain in the channel and for how long, argues an industry vet and advocate for more-effective training.
“We’ve seen too many of what I call ‘Five-day Wonders,’ come into the business and disappear just as quickly, because they simply are not cut out for the business,” says David O’Gorman, president and principal broker at MortgageLand. “It is a shame that a lot of these agents rise or fall on whether they had a decent trainer, and most times the training isn’t there.”
CAAMP was chosen to be the sole accredited course provider administer Ontario's broker training course, with a start date later this month. It is O’Gorman’s hope that the course will be a boot camp of top-notch drill instructors, weeding out those not fit to be brokers.
“I sincerely hope they don’t screw up as badly as the community colleges have,” says O’Gorman.
Registration for the mortgage broker education program is $345 (tax included), and is broken down into two phases. Phase 1 (the virtual phase) is good for six months, and allows access to the virtual study group, e-textbook and reading materials, case studies and finishes with an online assessment.
“In order to become a licensed mortgage broker, you must first have been a licensed mortgage agent for two years,” Alison Cousland manager of marketing and communications for CAAMP, said to MortgageBrokerNews.ca.
Phase 2 is a five-day, in-class workshop with an in-person assessment. Upon successful completion, the student receives a Certificate of Completion and completion status reporting to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO).
But for O’Gorman, what he’s seen in the past isn’t encouraging for broker and, indeed, agent training.
“If it was done right, we would not have so many disappearing from the channel only months after they’ve passed the five-day course,” he says. “Real Estate agents are trained right. They spend 100 hours learning the trade, then another 120 hours dealing with the public, and then there are three more courses before they obtain a probationary license.
“A new mortgage agent may have the knowledge and even the street smarts, but they don’t know how to approach a client, how to deal with people,” says O’Gorman. “You could be the smartest guy in the room, but just not cut out to be a broker.”
