Australian Financial Services Group (AFS) has revealed its paraplanning Academy as a means to secure paraplanners for its practices amid a fierce labour market.
"There is a massive skills shortage in the market and paraplanners are in hot demand," AFS managing director Peter Daly said.
"They are a rare breed and if we cannot find them, then let us go and create them."
Launched last month, the paraplanning academy holds a six week training course for seven AFS staff on how to operate Xplan and adapt their practice.
"It costs us $8000 to put any one planner through," Daly said.
AFS will boost practice and planner numbers before its initial public offering in three years, he said.
The firm was ranked 21 this year and last year in the IFA Dealer Group Survey.
