Putting Education Article into Context

Uneducated brokers not taken seriously

_{By        Adam Smith                    |                    20/04/2012 6:00:00 AM}                   

A trainer has claimed brokers need to better educate themselves if they are to be taken seriously by their referral partners.

The MFAA has faced backlash over its requirement that brokers complete their Diploma, but AAMC general manager Jeff Mazzini has told Australian Broker that brokers will have to increase their educational standards if they are to build referral partnerships.

“I always say to brokers, ‘Who are your referral partners? Do you deal with real estate agents licensees, with accountants or with financial planners? What’s their minimum level of education that they must have to be qualified in their industry?’ It’s a Diploma. How come a broker can walk in with a Cert IV and say they want their business?” he said.

Mazzini claimed that many accountants, financial planners and real estate agents do not take mortgage brokers seriously due to a lack of industry-wide education, and said many are reticent to refer clients to brokers.

“I go to PD days and meetings with them, and they all tell me the same thing: They will not get involved with brokers because of their skill level and education level,” he said.

While many brokers have railed against the industry’s increasing educational imposts, Mazzini claimed the standards would ultimately benefit brokers’ bottom lines.

“The whole thing they’re forgetting is that upskilling and education will actually help them earn more income. People have got the opportunity to gain a minimum of 10% more than a person who’s not educated,” he said.

However, Mazzini said brokers were not alone in fighting against higher educational standards. He claimed this mindset was common across Australia.

“The problem with most industries across Australia is a lot of people have to be forced into study because they don’t want to do it,” Mazzini said.

When this story hit the press I was in India and was able to respond to the many comments  added to this article and perhaps I now need to answer some of them to support what I have said above.

*  I am a member of seven professional organisations and have a very good understanding of issues effecting many of their members and the issues they face in their day-to-day working lives.

* I have previously held a Finance Brokers Licence, Dealers Licence and have qualifications in several areas pertaining to the areas I have placed comments about.

*  Viamy training company deliver training to the professions I have mentioned in the articles and have a good understanding of their educational and operational requirements.

* Above all I have been in the financial Service Industry for more than 40 years and my intent and ongoing intent is to always work with the various industry and its members to support their personal and business growth where ever possible.

“Aso we are all smart enough to know what gets said does not always get written”

Trainers/Teachers/Assessors must maintain currency in Subject matters taught

In today’s world there are many looking for reasons as to why the level of the education is perhaps not to their expectations and or assisting the country with its growth and development?

One of the issues that does not get addressed or strong actions taken in regards to the actual trainers/teachers/assessors being required to maintain currency in the subject matters that they are teaching/assessing and whilst it may be talked about one would ask what measuring and monitoring processes are in place. The world has a shortage of great teachers,trainees and assessors and some command a high price for their service but how up to date are they, so they actually can teach or assess today’s needs and not what may in a book written over a year or so ago.

The world changes daily now, text books get released each year (hopefully at least) for school level and above but constant change requires now that teachers and assessors maintain currency as to teach what happened yesterday when today is different, does not produce the right results for the student and the country overall. One way this will be addressed in time is the removal of the old style paper manuals and then that way the online materials can be also updated regularly as things change but this without teacher/trainer/assessor currency will not produce the overall results.

In my business all trainers are required to obtain a minimum of 20 CPD hours per year in the subject maters being taught, otherwise I can no longer employ them as it is not fair on students to have a teacher training or assessor that is not up-to-date on the subject matters being taught.

So next time you enter a training/class/lecture room or enrol with a training provider ask the question, are your trainers required to meet ongoing education/currency in the said subject matters and is that monitored and controlled. If you get a silence or even a no then move onto another training provider, as maintaining currency in the subject matter is vital to any trainers or assessors roll.

Without quality Education, there is no food on the table

Government to launch web site MY Skills to rank Vet Training Companies

 

The web site will provide information on training and the quality of the training providers, similar to My Schools and My Hospital website, as a step to try and improve the overall assurance and quality of the vocational training. I personally agree with this site as when press and others talk about poor delivery in the VET system it tarnishes all the good and great training organisations as well, so bring it out into the open.

Some interesting Facts relevant to training and education;

• Average of 30% of all students that undertake Vet training actually complete their studies
• 4.1 million People are not qualified enough to meet the needs of the economy, they earned $10,000 a less each year than their more skilled peers and had an employment rate of less than 60%.

 

The big questions that must be asked are;

 

• Why there are such a low number of completions, is it because training and delivery methods have not evolved to meet 2012 requirements.
• Is life just too good and is the government’s handout system just too generous to make their need for and urgency for individuals to need to up-skill themselves.
• Do we need to have a complete revision of not only the private providers and make all Vet delivery bodies being TAFE and private RTO’s have the same level of accountabilities
• Having a National regulatory body that two states are refusing to join or not wishing to hand over their respective states powers
• Is the standard and the ongoing training requirements of the trainers acceptable and does a more robust and stringent regulatory process need to be introduced into this area. Every profession requires ongoing continual professional development programme, why should trainers and assessors not be monitored and controlled in as well.

Whilst here in Australia we continue to understand the value and power of education our neighbours to the north have grasped the opportunity to grow and develop their people as they realise without education there can be no food on the table, its that’s simple.

460,000 Self Managed Super Funds in Australia, yet so few qualified advisors, why?

There are on an average 1.8 trustees per self managed super funds in Australia which equates to 828,000 trustees and the number of self managed super funds is growing by the day as more and more people are seeking to control their own destiny with their investments rather than paying others for the privilege.

Other interesting issues confronting this growth industry are as follows;

* Around 30% of all financial advisors in Australia are qualified to advise clients in this area

* Whilst accountants have been previously advising their clients in some aspects of these funds many also do not hold qualifications to advise in this area.

* Real Estate Agents, Sales representatives and Developers have also been involved in some way, shape or form and whilst not giving direct advice are involved in the selling of properties that end up in the funds

* Finance Brokers are still writing loans for clients who purchase either commercial or residential investment properties through the traditional ways of financing when in fact it is not always in the clients best interest to fund the investment this way, when in fact the self manged super fund may offer better benefits and return to the clients.

Given Australia is the second most litigious country in the world behind USA how long will it be before we star to see many claims being laid against the above mentioned professions.

Solution is to ensure that everyone operating in this space to all be required to undertake the same level of education and training so that all advice givers are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities when advising on the “clients best interest” model.

Its time for regulators and the government to stand tall and ensure standard education qualifications for everyone operating in this space of Self Managed Super Funds in Australia.

Australian Sickies cost industry $30 Billion a year

Imagine what could be done with the $30 billion dollars lost in sickies and at this stage I would like to highlight there are genuine sickies and reasons for the sickies but as we know there are also many workers that feel its their right to take days off sick or not as they are entitled to 10 days a year for sickies.

Interestingly the number of average sickies in Australia if you bear in mind that they workers are allowed 10 a year, is now running at 9.4 days per worker and this is a vast improvement from 2009 figures of 9.9 days per every worker, does this mean fewer workers are getting sick or more people are concerned about their job prospects in these tough times. I wonder with amazement how the employees in the many countries actual survive without having this safety net around them and how many days are actually lost through the taking of sick days, feel it would be interesting data if anyone out there has any to share with us.

Interesting facts in Australia is that with the public servants unplanned reasons is 22.5% higher in the public sector compared to the private sector with the health care industry workers averaged 11.9days absent a year followed by banking,finance and insurance who took 11.4 days of unplanned leave.

Is there a way of solving this high level of sickness to try to get the level of productivity lifted to enable Australia to become more competitive in the global arena and if there is reason for high levels of sickness in these professions mentioned then what is the reasons behind the outcomes we are seeing. To understand is to become knowledgeable and to gain knowledge assists in solving the issues what ever they may be.

 

 

National Competency Exams extended to start 2013

financial planners/advisors start date for the new national competency exams have now been extended to start 2013 which will see the requirement for all in the industry to have sat their examinations by 2016. The three-year transition window gives them to 2016.

The delay will mean that consumers will have to wait for ASIC to launch a central register, which would list the names of qualified planners. One must remember at this stage there is already an ASIC listing for all authorised representatives who operate in the industry and operate under a licencee. This register is available to the general public and others who choose to check the bona fide of the advisor they are dealing with. At tis stage it’s up to each licence to ensure the advisors have the required qualifications to operate in the industry and are qualified to advice in the areas they do.

ASIC’s intention to have all existing advisors retested every three years to ensure they have maintained the required skills and knowledge and this practice has been happen overseas in other countries for many years and Australia is looking at best practice models already happening offshore to ensure the standards of all australian advisors are maintained a ta a high level to ensure the public confidence in the profession is maintained.

The delivery of the examinations will  be via online examinations to ensure the costs are maintained at a reasonable level and costs mentioned are $300 for the sitting fee and between $200 to $300 for the completion of the knowledge update review.

This will ensure Australia maintains a mutual recognition with the USA and Australian advisors maintain a uniform minimum standard.

No doubt this requirement will flow through to many other professions in Australia to maintain uniform standards as well in the respective professions.

One must also note that no manner of education and or ethics standards required will stop those that choose to do the wrong thing and that issues and problem is a global epidemic that has existed since life first started on this planet and will continue on forever. Once you mix humans and money you will always have issues and ethics is word foreign to many across the globe.

Ethics is simply doing the right thing, even if you think no one is watching.

The more you suck on a lemon, the more bitter it becomes for all.

Given it’s a global economy now we have available 2 to 3 billion new low costs employees many highly educated in China, India, and Indonesia etc who have now entered the global workforce and this is placing
pressure of the high cost wages and low productivity being experienced in some countries today.

Many countries are now seeing the traditional middle income job roles disappear due to many reasons and one of which is the fast pace of new technology developments. Yet not many countries are ready or have the solutions to meet this evolving new world.

Many of the western countries are stuck between the old ways and the new, with wages far too high to be competitive, cost of services such as power water etc continuing to escalate. How to address the current high costs of housing and other daily
needs in many western nations is a major headache for government s and all asset owners. Asset prices in some countries have out grown the bench mark for affordability and reality for competitiveness and strong employment.

Past practices of governments and Banks of borrowing too much has now come home to roost but how do you maintain the status quo without the past practices of borrowing, is also another challenge facing many.

Why it’s simple you cannot expect to hold wages and asset values at such a high level, when in fact there are so many other cheaper
solutions to make a potentially viable business successful. Reality must one day meet reality.

Common Sense Rules now Introduced to Real Estate Property Sales

A real estate scam that led to two Perth houses being sold without the owners’ knowledge has
prompted the state government to toughen house sale rules.

Earlier this year a couple living overseas returned to Perth to inspect their property in Ballajura
in the city’s east only to find it had been sold without their consent.

A real estate agent said he had received an urgent request to sell the property from a man claiming
to be the owner and needing the money for a business investment.

Last year, Roger Mildenhall’s $485,000 investment property in Karrinyup was sold while he was in
South Africa, after a real estate agent was conned by scammers posing as the owner.

Police said it appeared the identity theft scam originated in Nigeria.

In both cases, the scammers received payment and the true homeowners did not get a cent, although
they are seeking compensation.

Codes of conduct for real estate and settlement agents had been strengthened.

“Agents will be required to undertake thorough identity verification checks to ensure they are
dealing with the real owner of the property.”

Guidelines issued by the Commissioner for Consumer Protection advise agents to carry out a 100-point
client identity verification to ensure they are dealing with the true owner or authorised representative, he said.

Under the new rules, consumer protection officers will conduct regular visits to agents to ensure
they conform to the new codes of conduct.

Source Business News

Release of Paper for “Future of Financial Advice Commencing 1/07/2012″

Treasury released the second tranche of draft legislation on the FoFA reforms.
Signalling a welcome end to uncertainty for the financial planning profession, the draft rules feature:

• the ban on commissions and other  volume-based payments to financial advisers,
• the ban on soft-dollar benefits  to financial advisers,
• the ban on volume-based      shelf-space fees to product platforms and
• the ban on asset-based fees involving leverage.

Importantly, the Government has decided not to ban insurance commissions inside superannuation.

The Minister’s office has confirmed that further information regarding FoFA will be released in the coming weeks including:

• Resolution on the replacement to the accountants exemption
• Intra-Fund advice
• Consultation paper on restricting the term financial planner

However,  we are still uncertain about when we will receive clarification on other details not specified in the draft legislation such as:

• Final report on the last resort compensation scheme by Richard St John; and
• Final report on the advisory panel on standards and ethics

For full report please see link below

http://futureofadvice.treasury.gov.au/content/consultation/corporations_further/downloads/FOFA_T2_Bill_EM.pdf

Too time poor to use technology as a means to reduce costs

Australia actually suffers from many people who are adverse to using technology and the social media opportunities that reward the smart companies that use the medium to deliver the message, along with to seek feedback on their company’s performance. Online targeted advertising for example produces far greater return than the traditional magazine and use of the twitter, LinkedIn , face book, You Tube and blogs does generate a great deal of traffic. I have experienced far greater sales via these mediums than I have from paying expensive sales force salaries, without the need to pay further wages to manage and drive the sales force to sell.

In my roll dealing with many clients and companies around Australia there are still far too many people that have not adapted to using technology in their business models and it’s frightening.  Especially when we compare ourselves to the
large educated work force located to the north of ourselves who actually are ahead of us in many ways when it comes to technology use and development.

If a CEO is to lead the company and take it into the new world, technology and the power of using this social medium is not a like too but a must. Look at what is happening to retail as more and more is migrated from the traditional brick and mortar shop fronts to the online shop fronts. In my industry, it is 20% of the cost to deliver my products and services online compared to the traditional face to face delivery method. That means its 80% cheaper to deliver via the online medium, is there another way to reduce costs in existing business models to that magnitude, I think not.

Yes I along with many others are time poor but I am not too time poor to want to reduce costs whilst growing income by adapting to using technology.