Last week, we warned readers against training service providers who use Continuous Professional Development (CPD) credits as a means of selling their services to unsuspecting FSPs who are under the impression that it will gain them FSB CPD points.
David Harpur, Chief Executive at the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA) responded to the article as follows:
We do not want any confusion in the market place regarding IISA CPD hours as approved by the IISA for our CPD programme, which is also approved by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and any potential CPD plan that will at some future date be implemented by the FSB.
This is part of our Professional body status requirement for individuals holding Licentiate, Associate or Fellowship status designations awarded by the IISA in terms of our constitution and who now have to follow a path of earning CPD hours to retain their professional designations.
Please also note for the record we are using “hours” and not “points” as this is most likely what the FSB will eventually use when they get their CPD Plan on the go at some future date.
Thank you for the clarification, David.
Please allow me to reiterate that we fully endorse ongoing training, particularly where it contributes to enhancing the professionalism of intermediaries. Professional bodies that incorporate this into their membership obligations should be commended and supported. They provide their members with peace of mind by ensuring that training is pre-approved.
I just need to point out that, despite two discussion documents published by the FSB on CPD, nothing is official yet. It may therefore be dangerous to make assumptions about what the FSB might require. After two discussion papers on the matter, it was put on ice with the publication of Board Notice 163 of 2012. The reason for this is that those people who passed the Level 1 REs, and had the right qualifications, were legally compelled to start with CPD. As the requirements had not been finalised yet, the introduction of CPD was postponed.
With the Level 2 regulatory exams also in limbo, we are waiting for clarity from the Regulator before proceeding with anything. Officially, the Level 2 REs have to be completed by the end of 2013, which is impossible. We expect an official notification before the end of the year regarding an exemption from complying with the deadline for the Level 2 exams. Hopefully, there will soon be news on its implementation.
