I’ve just had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine about business qualifications being one way to improve job prospects during a downturn in job opportunities. However he pointed out that Training Journal reports that the National Skills Academy for Financial Services (NSAFS) is launching a  qualification aimed at senior financial advisers wanting to upgrade their skills that doesn’t have a written examination. The FSA is expected to approve the qualification on 6th February.

Simon Thompson, CEO of CIOBS, which is awarding the qualification, said: “We know the great majority of existing advisers provide high quality advice to their clients day in, day out, but some may struggle to demonstrate this in a traditional, written examination”.

I may be mistaken, probably am, but if they find a written exam difficult then writing reports to clients advising on pensions, investments and so on to look after their client’s money is probably also a struggle?