TAL Professional Year initiatives support the evolution of the financial advice profession

Leading Australian life insurer, TAL, continues to support the growth of the financial advice industry through several Professional Year (PY) initiatives aimed at smoothing the path for more people to seek a career in the profession.

TAL’s support of the PY sits across three pillars – PY Manager, structured training through the TAL Risk Academy, and PY Community.

Launched in November 2022, PY Manager provides a comprehensive solution for candidates, supervisors, and licensees to manage the requirements of the PY - allowing users to spend more time on career development and less on administration requirements.

In 2023, PY Manager grew to support 207 candidates and more than 600 users. Of these, 16 candidates have completed their PY through the program. Over 100 Australian financial services licensees currently use the platform – a number that continues to grow.

TAL General Manager, Retail Sales and New Business, Beau Riley, said TAL has invested considerably in doing more than providing education and industry updates, advocating for the value of a strong financial advice profession, and encouraging new entrants into the industry.

“TAL is committed to growing the advice profession by providing the right education and support required to meet dynamic professional standards and regulatory requirements. Ultimately, this will mean more Australians will have access to the high-quality financial advice they want and need.”

“TAL is focused on partnering with licensees and advisers to help grow a thriving, professional financial advice sector.”

“Supporting candidates to meet their structured training requirements with assessments, and licensees with the PY criteria, is one of the ways we show our dedication to advisers’ ongoing professional development. It is incredibly rewarding to see candidates from over 100 AFSLs using the PY Manager platform to complete their Professional Year.”

“We will continue to design our PY support based on adviser feedback, updating the content to ensure relevance,” said Mr Riley.

TAL’s PY support continues with PY Community, hosting monthly events with industry experts and leading advisers, and structured CPD training through the TAL Risk Academy hosted by TAL’s technical team and industry guest presenters.

There were 1,163 TAL Risk Academy course enrolments by PY candidates in 2023 – this number has grown 168% in the past two years. The program offers all PY structured training requirements including an assessment. TAL’s Financial Exam Masterclass continues to be the most popular on-demand course, directly supporting those in the PY.

Nathan Morgan, PY candidate at HPH Solutions said “TAL continues to impress with the range of knowledge being provided in these sessions. It shows that TAL has their finger on the PY pulse.”

“TAL Risk Academy is designed to serve as a cornerstone in fulfilling ongoing adviser education needs and CPD hour requirements. We have collaborated with industry experts to deliver a comprehensive program that can be responsive to the evolving needs of the professional advice industry, including our tailored PY program,” said Mr Riley.

In 2023, TAL Risk Academy continued to donate course fees to charity partner Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN), a purpose-led, not-for-profit connecting businesses and schools to address educational disadvantage. In the past nine years, the program has donated over $830,000 to ABCN, supporting the education of hundreds of young Australians.