Apprenticeship Update – Part 2

Last month, we caught up with Hollie & Lauren for an update on the Level 4 Paraplanning Apprenticeship they were enrolled onto. Here is the second part of their update…

What will we hope to do when you finish this?

Hollie: At the end of the apprenticeship, I’m hoping to move on to the next set of exams to gain the ‘Diploma in Financial Planning’. This will help me to gain more technical knowledge to progress in my career as a paraplanner/senior client relationship manager and will enable me to work on more complex cases and have more input into the advice process to be able to support our advisers and clients further.

What have you found most difficult during the course?

Lauren: I think the most difficult part of the course has been balancing my workload, personal life, the apprenticeship and exams; but a big part of being a paraplanner is being organised and finding a way to prioritise and plan to fit everything into place. It’s a fantastic skill to have in life in general!

It’s hard to juggle everything at the same time but with the support Serenity have given us to ensure we have time to study, helping us to structure our work, and find ways to help us to use our time more effectively, everything has been progressing very smoothly and has made the workload much easier to cope with.

Would you encourage other people to start this course?

Hollie: Absolutely! The course is a fun way to study and gives you access to so many helpful tools. The support and feedback I have received from my tutor has been fantastic and she’s been a great aid to us both throughout the last year, ensuring that we never felt daunted or overwhelmed to complete tasks, finish work alongside our role or in taking the exams.

Lauren and I want to give a shout out to Sue Cox as well who conducts the lessons on the exam material; she has the most engaging and enthusiastic approach to teaching, and she’s a big highlight of the course! We both feel she gives you the boost you need to sit your exam and a great insight into how to tackle the questions. I don’t think I would have got through the exams without either Sarah or Sue.

The course has been a great way to pace us into our future careers as paraplanners alongside our current roles as it’s built up our technical and practical knowledge throughout the course. We now feel like we can make a much bigger impact as members of the team on the financial planning service Serenity provide.