Working in partnership with The Institute of Financial Planning, Norwich Union's unique programme will provide students with practical work experience and will prepare and encourage them to secure employment with advisory businesses.
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School will be the first university to take part in The Future Adviser Programme and will work alongside Norwich Union to engage more than four hundred second-year students, across its financial services and accountancy and finance degrees.
Through a high-profile competition, the most promising undergraduates will be awarded a six week internship with Norwich Union to be taken in the summer break before returning for their final year at university, along with a cash prize of £1,000 each. Additionally the six winners and 30 runners-up will be rewarded with a profile on Norwich Union's Adviser Sales Centre extranet.
Norwich Union believes that practical experience is vitally important, therefore two weeks of the internship will be spent at a high-quality firm, hosted by Bankhall, Tenet and The Money Portal. Here they will explore the ‘soft skills' required and gain an appreciation of the end-to-end financial planning process.
The initiative is intended to complement Norwich Union's Financial Adviser Academy, which was launched in March, and provides a comprehensive programme of support for advisers studying to attain an accredited QCA level four qualification.
The students will be offered access to The Financial Adviser Academy and once qualified will then be able to go onto the internationally recognised Certified Financial Planner programme and obtain a leading professional qualification once they have matched their learning with experience.
Norwich Union aims to fully launch its programme in early 2009 and will release further details in due course.