A major bank has put the education program it launched in September 2019 through a “complete refresh”, with specific provision being made for its commercial and equipment finance brokers.
Westpac’s Broker Academy is a comprehensive online learning and business knowledge platform – one that will now be provided to its 9,000 accredited business banking brokers for free via a complimentary 12-month subscription.
Greg Pell, national general manager of specialised lending and transactional banking at Westpac, clarified that The Broker Academy is available to all brokers, but the offer of a free year is reserved for those in the commercial space at Westpac and its subsidiaries St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA and Capital Finance.
According to Pell, the Broker Academy is a key piece of the Westpac group’s approach to ongoing education as it aims to help prepare brokers to face the challenges they're set to encounter in today's marketplace.
“We’re offering a completely refreshed and innovative education solution which supports brokers in the current environment, where technology advancement is creating demand for new sets of broker skills,” Pell explained.
“Westpac Group is committed to leading the way by further investing in the education of our accredited brokers to help shape a stronger and more robust industry.
“New priorities mean new ways of delivering the broker education journey with clarity, simplicity and in a convenient way."
The Broker Academy contains 76,000 online learning courses covering everything from compliance, sales, and marketing, through to contract law negotiation, and hard and soft skills training. Participating business brokers are able to attain formal Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points accepted by industry bodies such as CAFBA, FBAA and MFAA.
Since its launch in late 2019, The Broker Academy has been shaped by broker input, with a Westpac spokesperson assuring the group will “continue to seek feedback from brokers on a regular basis to ensure the content is up to date and reflective of the COVID-19 operating environment”.
