Financial services education: An Irish perspective

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to chart the development of financial services education from its origins in the insurance industry to the current offering for people who wish to work in the life and non-life insurance industry. Financial services education within Ireland has evolved over time. Originally perceived to be an outpost of the British Insurance Institute, it is the responsibility of a variety of institutes that operate in the financial sectors, covering a range which includes insurance, banking and credit unions. Where tertiary education was optional, it is now a requirement of the regulator that people working in this sector have achieved at least this standard. Additionally, specialist qualifications for those working in the industry are being developed with academic involvement, as the institutes work to provide professional qualifications.

Design/methodology/approach

To compare and contrast the Irish regulatory requirements, an analysis of other European Union (EU) national requirements was conducted, illustrating differences in education and current certification requirements.

Findings

Educational requirements in Ireland go a long way in terms of ensuring that workers in financial services are adequately skilled in terms of academic, professional, ethical and continuous professional development (CPD). The Irish system covers a lot of aspects of financial services minimum competency code that is implemented in other EU jurisdictions, and in some cases, it has a unique approach in CPD.

Practical implications

Serves as a comparable study of minimum competency requirements of EU for financial services employees and highlights differences in requirements across borders.

Originality/value

This is a unique study of minimum competency code that has been implemented by financial regulators across EU member states and its impact in the industry in terms of raising the requirements of people involved in the sector.

Citation

Brophy, R. (2014), "Financial services education: An Irish perspective", Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 78-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFRC-10-2013-0037