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Professional Qualifications

Professional Qualifications

Continuous learning for further skills and knowledge

Continuous learning when in work is important so that further skills and knowledge can be developed in order to keep up with the changing nature of jobs and also to support career progression. The financial services sector is large and diverse. Each subsector operates in different ways and therefore each profession can require specific technical knowledge.

Financial services employers place value on professional qualifications and look for employees that are committed to achieving relevant exams. As a regulated industry, some jobs in the sector can only be undertaken unsupervised when the employee has achieved an Appropriate Exam.The Financial Services Authority (FSA) sets down these regulations.

Professional qualifications are job specific. They build on top of general and academic qualifications (such as A Levels, degrees, GCSEs, Standards, Highers etc) and give the learner the exact technical knowledge required to undertake the tasks of a role. Professional qualifications fall into three categories:

Appropriate Exams

For some roles, specific qualifications are needed in order to undertake the activities of the job unsupervised. For example, to provide mortgage advice, the adviser must have an Appropriate Exam. The FSA decides which job activities are regulated and therefore which ones must have an Appropriate Exam attached to them. It is generally jobs that involve advising the general population on financial matters that are regulated. It's important to remember that the employer will not necessarily expect you to have this qualification if you are a new entrant but they will expect that you successfully obtain it whilst in post.

Recommended Exams

There are certain job activities that do not require the person to have a specific qualification, but the FSA recommends that the employee considers working towards a professional qualification. These activities are generally those that involve advising other businesses on financial matters. Again, the employer will not necessarily expect you to have this qualification if you are a new entrant but they may expect that you successfully obtain it whilst in post.

Other professional qualifications

Aside from Appropriate and recommended exams, there are many other qualifications that are offered by professional bodies that employers would deem useful for the employee to achieve whilst they are in work. Please see the list of professional bodies to view the range of qualifications on offer.