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Strategi's David Greenslade
Last year, Strategi and Professional IQ announced they had accessed Government funding to reduce the cost of the level five qualification for financial advisers.
Those who complete the course within seven and nine months after starting it could qualify for a rebate of $500 at Strategi or $550 at Professional IQ College.
But those who finished it more quickly, or took longer, would not receive the money.
That has confused some advisers, particularly those who have used recent months in lockdown to focus on meeting the requirements of the new financial advice regime.
Professional IQ College chief executive Rod Severn said the rules came from the Tertiary Education Commission and Skills Organisation and were strict.
“It’s out of our hands … the only reasoning we’ve been given is that the funding was put in place to assist financially and ease the burden of having to complete training while working full-time. If they completed it in a couple of months their logic is that they’re not working full-time and could get funding in other areas.
“My thinking [it would be ideal to be able to] do it in 12 months and get the rebate. These things have caused people grief, if they’re wanting to get it done quickly or haven’t had time, it has caused problems for quite a few advisers.”
At Strategi, David Greenslade said he had been told that, because the qualification was meant to take a set number of hours, there was a concern that those who did it too quickly had not done the work required.
Some advisers had been warned to slow down, he said, because they were going to finish too fast.
But Strategi had asked for a review of the rules.
“We’re saying in light of what’s happening with Covid there are hundreds of students at home going flat out, why now should they be penalised if they’re almost full-time as opposed to part-time?”
He said training providers were the “piggy in the middle”.
About 1,000 advisers were going through the qualification at the moment and at least half were expecting to be able to qualify for the rebate, he said.
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What is "magic" about completing a qualification between 7 and 9 months.
That is complete in the 8th month if you start, we'll give you a reward.
Complete in less time 5, 6 or 7 months - too bad, no reward. Take longer than 8 months - too bad, No reward.
It sort of sounds like a Claytons rebate. We want to be seen to be encouraging, but we don't want to pay out too much money.
I would challenge Skills to publish their rationale for this policy. However I won't be holding my breathe.
PS surely Rod was misquoted in his advice to compete "in 12 months and get the rebate"? When I went to school, 12 was not between 7 and 9.