Kaplan unveils aspiring adviser training initiative

Kaplan Professional has launched a new Financial Adviser Accelerator Suite to prepare new entrants and early-career advisers for the profession.

As the low quantity of advisers continues to pose challenges for both the profession and wider society, the education provider said the Accelerator Suite, intended to act as a “personalised launchpad”, will deliver crucial hands-on, career-focused learning for new entrants.

The program is structured around four key knowledge pillars of financial advice, including fundamentals, client care, client engagement and quality processes, with each topic containing multiple modules.

Targeting new entrants and professional year (PY) advisers, the new suite is intended to help develop soft skills, client engagement techniques, and overall professional impact. By engaging with real-world challenges advisers face, Kaplan chief executive Brian Knight said individuals will build “confidence, capability, and client-readiness from day one”.

“Our initiative is designed to establish a clear and structured entry pathway into financial advice, running concurrently with the professional year, to accelerate the development of practical knowledge and skills, bringing the profession into alignment with other well-established fields.

“What we wanted to do is create a dynamic environment where advisers learn by doing – they practise client conversations, make ethical decisions, and solve client problems in a safe, supportive environment,” he said.

“The structure is flexible but focused, designed to fit around work and life, while still delivering a rigorous, high-impact learning experience.”

Through the program, Knight said, students will improve not only their knowledge, but also their mindset and professionalism, helping support the future of the advice profession.

“This is about building a stronger, more sustainable financial advice profession. We listened to what the industry needed – confident, capable and client-ready professionals – and built a solution we think delivers exactly that,” he said.

“When advisers are better prepared, everyone benefits … from licensees, to clients, to the industry as a whole.”

There are currently five topics available to study, with seven more to be released soon, and a total of 20 by the end of the year.

Those who undertake the program will receive either 20 hours of structured training per topic to contribute to professional year requirements or five hours of continuing professional development (CPD) recognised on Kaplan’s Ontrack program.

The Accelerator Suite topics are also set to be available through the Financial Advice Association Australia’s soon-to-be-launched Financial Advice Academy, for which Kaplan is set to be the exclusive education partner.