The insurance broker education committee set up by Financial Services School (FSS) director Val Phinn has convened in Brisbane for its inaugural meeting.

The group, formed to overhaul broking qualification courses, plans to hold a final meeting later this month, after which Ms Phinn will use industry feedback to prepare a detailed business case for Innovation & Business Skills Australia (IBSA).

IBSA is one of 11 authorised industry skills councils. It designs the national vocational education and training courses that registered training organisations such as Brisbane-based FSS offer.

The committee – with Ms Phinn as facilitator – was formed in August to address industry concerns that training courses do not fully satisfy the needs of the broking industry.  

The committee is chaired by Lyn Rankin (CGU) and includes Elina Burt (Regional Insurance Brokers), David McKinnis (Insight), Scott McCarthy (Ausure Insurance Brokers), Craig Barnden (Ausure), David Duncalfe (Council of Queensland Insurance Brokers), Tina Wilkinson (Wymark Sirius Insurance Brokers), Andrea Gillespie (Austbrokers CE McDonald), Carl Greenhalgh (LMI Group) and Emma Anthonisz (Insurance Aid General Brokers).

Ms Phinn says there was “general consensus” at the Brisbane meeting that the Certificate IV in Insurance Broking is “not suited to the broader sector of the industry”.

Certificate III “has potential” for trainees.

“We were able to ascertain key components missing from current qualifications, particularly competencies that addressed technical knowledge and skills, sales and customer relationships,” Ms Phinn told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“We also noted that there’s a lot of repetition of process across a number of competencies. These can be reduced significantly to make way for areas that we consider to be more important.”

Using input from committee members and others, Ms Phinn has established a framework that she will continue to build.

“Wide-ranging consultation and communication is the key,” she said.

Ms Phinn says she has not approached the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) or the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF).

“Some people have said I should go to NIBA or ANZIIF with my concerns about the course content,” she told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “Why would I do that? They were on the industry committee  [advising IBSA on course design].

“With the greatest respect to NIBA and ANZIIF, they’ve been on these boards for 10 or 15 years.”

Ms Phinn is also concerned that NIBA and ANZIIF represent the industry and are also registered training organisations, in competition with FSS and other providers.

“Without question, there’s a conflict of interest.”

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for the middle of this month, and the group is still taking industry feedback. Ms Phinn says she is especially keen to receive feedback from regional brokers.

“They are often overlooked and often have different needs. A lot of them have to deal with a wide range of insurance products due to their locality and client base.”

Feedback can be sent to val.p@thefss.com.au.