Reasons to be apprenticed

This news item covers reasons to be apprenticed and Panacea Adviser's significant website upgrade.

1. Reasons to be apprenticed – trainee financial advisers

There are great reasons to become an apprentice, not least:

• Get straight to work and get paid
• Learn a profession
• Avoid student debt

Now that times are less Dickensian though, what are the advantages of taking on an apprentice?

These vary with the size of firm, but some of these reasons should fit the bill:

• Business continuity
• Cost effective help
• A new perspective

All firms need new people coming through and an apprentice can be the blank canvass needed to bring on an adviser in a firm’s own image!

There is also a range of support services provided by government; the government wants you to take on apprentices!

The downside, of course there is always a downside, is that even if you have found the perfect workaholic, presentable, intelligent apprentice, they are going to need a lot of training before they become really useful.

It is very important to ensure that your apprentice is given structure in their learning, progression towards qualification and reliable ways to be tested and measured in terms of progress. It’s always going to be an investment and there are risks.

In order to maximize the chances of your apprentice ‘working out’ there are some steps you can take:

• Gain a commitment
• Set and agree goals
• Incentivise with recognition.

If this sounds like hard work, it need not be! Wizard Learning are on hand to help with a cost effective accredited CPD system and learning system that can be used for trainee financial advisers that will record your apprentice’s progress as well as enabling them to learn in and out of the office.

For details of our accredited CPD system click here.

2. Panacea Adviser unveils significant upgrade of website
Panacea Adviser, the online community and resource for financial advisers and paraplanners, has unveiled a significant upgrade of its website, www.panaceaadviser.com, which includes a complete refresh of the site and the addition of a range of new services and features.

The focus of the site update has been on making it much more tailored to adviser and paraplanner requirements, so users can use their own ‘Preference Centre’ to customise the information they wish to see on the home page as well as through the twice-weekly Bento bulletins.

The home page news feed will show everything new that is added to the site, so users won’t miss any useful information, forthcoming events and development materials that may be of use.

Five areas to aid adviser and paraplanner businesses
Also simplified is the site navigation essentially splitting content into five main areas and housing all existing content under those headings. This means advisers and paraplanners will be able to easily access the wealth of support and resources.

News & comments – an area where all news from Bento bulletins can be viewed, and a wealth of articles can be viewed by category.

Tools & resources – an area where information about financial services products can be found all in one place.

Industry events – where advisers and paraplanners can view both forthcoming events, plus an array of webcasts & webinars from Panacea and Partners alike.

Panacea Academy – a centralised area where users can retrieve learning support and assistance with CPD requirements.

The all new Better Business zone – which contains support-related information and materials to help the community more effectively run their businesses, including business development, marketing, social media, guides & white papers, and assistance with finding a paraplanner.

Additionally, there has also been a significant amount of new information and resources placed in the Mortgage Zone dedicated to those advisers active in the mortgage sector.

We hope you like what you see!  Please visit www.panaceaadviser.com for more information.