Where will the jobs be?  This is by far the question that I’ve been asked the most during my time as a Careers Adviser.  For advice professionals, a core aspect of our work is to understand which jobs are going to change and where the opportunities may lie.  One current area of opportunity is retail financial advice.  But how and why is it changing, and more importantly, what will the opportunities be and which employers will be recruiting?

Let’s address the ‘how and why’ first.  The changes that the retail financial advice market place is currently experiencing are a result of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), a Financial Services Authority (FSA) policy.

The RDR stipulates that by 2013 financial advisers will be expected to have achieved a new benchmark qualification at QCF level 4 in order to be authorised by the FSA to give advice.  Previously, financial advisers would need to have a FSA recognised professional qualification that was set at QCF level 3.    This will have an impact on opportunities in the financial advice labour market and reports have indicated that between 10 and 20 per cent of advisers will not update their qualifications and will look to leave the industry before the new rules come into force.  As a result  there is a real concern that there will not be enough advisers to meet the demand for advice from individuals.  AVIVA, which in its June 2011 report ‘The Value of Financial Advice’ says that despite the indicated changes to the financial advice market, the market looks set to thrive.  It appears that whilst there may be changes in the way that people access financial advice, the need will still exist.

Jenny Barber
Head of Education & Careers
Financial Skills Partnership

As always, it is a question of supply and demand.  Will there actually be enough demand from the general public for financial advice that supports the need for more financial advisers? According to www.unbiased.co.uk, an online financial advice website, over 400,000 individuals and businesses approached them to help them find an IFA.

Whether it is the need to fill the gap between savings and pensions, managing a limited income successfully in these challenging economic times or increasing the value of savings, it would seem that now more than ever that individuals in the UK need access to high quality financial advice.

If the above scenario plays out, the industry will need to attract new entrants in order to meet the demand for financial advice.  But where will the new entrants come from and what opportunities will there be for them?

Step forward Sesame and Aviva. The FSP and Directions, our online careers service, has been working with both Aviva and Sesame to help source new entrants to join the financial advice profession. In a bid to drive interest the firms have put in place innovative new recruitment programmes.

Aviva’s Future Adviser Programme (FAP) brings together undergraduates and financial advice firms through a six week internship to help students find out more about being a financial adviser.  The programme is a great way to introduce a career that not many undergraduates would have previously considered.  As Aviva states, ‘since launch in 2009 the Future Adviser Programme (FAP) has introduced 111 interns to financial advice as a career option (26 of these have completed the six week FAP programme and 23 have secured various roles within the financial sector throughout the UK).  Aviva is  developing the strategy further to align new talent to the needs of IFA firms in a post RDR world.  Aviva believes that through propositions such as the FAP and the Financial Adviser Academy we are not only investing in, but helping shape the future of financial advice’.

The Financial Adviser School, backed by The Sesame Bankhall Group, takes it a step further. The School is open to new students from across the UK, where trainee advisers will go through an 18-month part time programme that will develop them to full competent adviser status. The School takes on two intakes per year and students are guaranteed a role as a Financial Adviser upon graduation.  At a time when employment opportunities can be limited, these provide excellent lifelines to interested and committed individuals. Lisa Winnard, Director of HR & Development at Sesame Bankhall Group says the Financial Adviser School provides an entry route into financial services for those people who are looking to change career or just starting out on their career journey.  She continues that ‘our existing students have found the programme to provide the structure and access to skills they need to become a professional financial adviser, whilst being able to maintain their day job’.

So, for people who are looking for a career which involves working with people, providing advice on and solutions to financial planning goals, financial advice is a career to consider.  Signpost them to Directions to find out more about the career and get the latest opportunities from employers in the sector.