"It has made into reality, the possibility of reaching wider audiences for further academy weeks without the attendees having to travel."
Connect has been running monthly academy training at its offices since the beginning of 2019, and had already scheduled its next session for the week commencing the 30th March, when the country went into lockdown.
The academies are designed to bring new advisers into the specialist mortgage industry. They are open either to brokers returning to the industry after a period of absence or for accountants, estate or letting agents, as well as other individuals experienced in property, who want to make the move into advice. The only requirement is that attendees join Connect’s network once they have completed the course.
The virtual academy involved a full week of 'live' training online, with 15 different presenters covering how to fact find, research and present solutions. The academy provided attendees with product knowledge in the areas of buy-to-let, bridging and commercial mortgages. Connect also held sessions on sales skills and how attendees can market their new businesses.
Liz Syms, CEO of Connect for Intermediaries, said: "One of the challenges was teaching our academy members remotely how to use software such as OMS and Knowledge Bank, which all our network members get access to as part of their membership. However, we only had minor technical hitches and got some great feedback from our attendees and presenters alike.
"It has made into reality, the possibility of reaching wider audiences for further academy weeks without the attendees having to travel. This means we will be able to run further academies in this way both while the lockdown continues and even when it is over."
