Access Financial Services is planning to quadruple its current headcount after more than doubling its adviser workforce in the last year.
In June 2022 Health & Protection reported the mortgage and protection firm had recruited its one hundredth adviser after being founded five years ago and was targeting a further doubling of its workforce.
Providing an update on its progress, the firm said that over the past year, its number of advisers has increased from 120 to 250.
But it added it is not stopping there as it has plans to reach 300 advisers by year end and to add a further 700 over the next three years.
A key part of hitting the target and attracting new talent to the mortgage and protection industry has been the completion of the Access Financial Services academy proposition with the introduction of a suite of CeMAP courses.
Led by training manager Peter Phillips, the enhanced academy aims to train and develop a new wave of advisers.
The revamped academy now conducts monthly training sessions, with up to 18 participants in each group. The curriculum includes CeMAP levels 1, 2, and 3, covering all aspects of mortgage and protection products, providing expert advice and guiding advisers on how to develop a business of their own. It also covers mortgage sales, offering in-depth knowledge of CeMAP 1, 2, and 3, as well as specialist lending products.
The CeMAP courses consist of three levels. Level 1 serves as the foundation, providing knowledge on products and regulations. After passing level 1, advisers progress to levels 2 and 3, which focus on the mortgage market and protection. With the bespoke training courses designed by Phillips, Access FS added it is aiming to achieve a completion rate of more than 90%.
The curriculum also covers core skill training, including sales, client base building, soft skills, and IT and systems training.
Access added it will initially introduce the new academy proposition to its protection-only team, along with any new advisers joining with a focus on protection. It explained that by giving its existing adviser team early access to the enhanced training programme, it is aiming to provide them with the first opportunity to benefit from the CeMAP courses to set themselves up for further expansion and career growth.
Phillips also revealed plans for the development of a learning management system to provide a flexible approach for new recruits with varying qualifications and experience levels, while refresher courses will be available to all of Access FS’s 250 existing advisers nationwide.
Karl Wilkinson, founder and CEO of Access Financial Services, (pictured) said: “We are incredibly proud to
announce the new Access Academy proposition as we look to build bright futures for our future advisers.
“Peter has been invaluable since joining us in February as we continue to enhance our offering to meet the demand of our academy signups.
“It is a great achievement for the firm to reach the 250 milestone, and we expect to have more than 300 advisers by the end of this year, while laying the groundwork to achieve 1,000 advisers over the next three years.”