Following the exam review update meeting held on February 17 by the fledgling Financial Services Skills Council, the CII is to consult on the detail of the framework with its 20 leading customers – including practitioners and companies – within the next six weeks.
A formal submission will then be made to the Skills Council and QCA for accreditation and inclusion in the list of appropriate examinations. The CII welcomed the confirmation from the Skills Council that people should continue to take examinations from the current scheme in the interim until the new examinations are available. The CII itself confirmed that it will continue to offer the Financial Planning Certificate (FPC) until mid 2005 to allow those wishing to complete the qualification sufficient time to do so.
CII director general Dr Sandy Scott said, “The industry has suffered long enough from this planning blight on the examination review. Our own review of the Financial Planning Certificate is well advanced. We are determined to provide a solution that meets the needs of the industry, the student and most importantly, the consumer.
“We will continue to work with and support the Skills Council. Further clarification is still required from them in certain areas of the review, particularly on the ‘Advice skills’ aspects. However, we believe our framework is the answer that will raise standards and provide pathways to progression without being burdensome in terms of time and cost. We must be conscious of the current situation in the long-term savings sector”
Flexibility via a modular, credit-based framework will be a key factor in the CII’s solution. Where examinations are required these will be offered ‘in-house’ on firms premises, online or at 120 examination centres around the country and around the world.
The CII’s consultation programme will allow it to discuss and fine-tune the framework. It will mirror the highly successful consultation undertaken by the CII leading to the launch in 2003 of a new qualifications framework for general insurance.
