ETITO and the financial services industry

In 2007, ETITO was gazetted by the Ministry of Education with industry coverage for the financial services industry. ETITO has been actively engaging with the industry since 2002, when the industry recognised a number of common drivers for competency-based industry unit standards and qualifications.

Over this time, ETITO has been involved in extensive consultation with the financial services industry. Representatives from banking, insurance and financial adviser organisations have contributed directly to the translation of workplace competency into unit standards. These unit standards are now contained in the two financial services qualifications registered with NZQA.

From mid-May 2008, ETITO has worked collaboratively with industry, the Securities Commission [now the Financial Markets Authority] as regulator, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Tertiary Education Commission to align ETITO-developed national qualifications with the evolving regulatory regime. ETITO has also been advising the Code Committee for Financial Advisers on aspects pertaining to competency-based training and assessment.

The competency-based approach and regulation

There is significant evidence to indicate that examination alone is not a good measure of how well a person can perform their job. Therefore, some of the unit standards proposed by the Code Committee can be assessed via examination and some of them will require advisers to produce workplace evidence. There are many examples of industries in New Zealand and overseas who have used this model successfully.

Financial adviser regulation is a key plank in the shared Government / industry strategy to restore confidence in the quality of financial advice available to mum and dad investors. At the heart of the strategy is the competence - in practice - of advisers to give good advice and follow good advice-giving process. The competency-based approach to assessment, where actual evidence of adviser practice is assessed against national standards, is consistent with this objective.