For some people, Britain’s booming property market and the promise of a career in an ever-shifting environment might have attracted them to the CeMAP qualification, but choosing what to do afterwards isn’t the easiest decision to make.
If you’re the kind of person who likes to plan ahead and get a grasp of the possibilities, it’d be advantageous to consider whether you’d like to be self-employed or working in a permanent position. The former option obviously promises greater freedom, but for many people the security of a full-time role means it is the more desirable route.
Not just for mortgage advisors
Although assuming an advisory role within the property market is the obvious choice and the most common route for those studying on a CeMAP training course, it’s not the only path you can take.
Customer relationship management jobs with banks, for instance, can ask for the mortgage advice qualification; in such a position, you’d likely be expected to answer client queries and offer information regarding the various products available. Depending on the employer, the job description may ask for other qualifications alongside the CeMAP, such as a bachelor’s degree, or relevant experience in a similar role.
Trained mortgage advisors could also take up quality review and management jobs, which would see them examining the advice given out by advisors and assessing it for compliance with what’s known in the industry as the ‘treat customers fairly’ principle, or TCF. As a quality reviewer, you might also be expected to report breaches of the industry standards outlined by the Financial Conduct Authority and Personal Touch Financial Services, which is the UK’s largest privately owned network of advisors.
As might be expected, the vast majority of the jobs asking for CeMAP-qualified applicants are mortgage advisory roles. However, while you might start out in this position, there’s no reason why you should have to remain there for the rest of your career; you could set your sights further afield, using your first few mortgage advisor jobs as a leg up into another more suited to your personality.
For example, somewhere along the line you could become an operations manager. Nationwide has previously advertised for this position, asking for applicants with the full CeMAP qualification, experience of senior-level management and knowledge of Financial Conduct Authority regulations.
Not just the job
Employment isn’t all you have to think about, as you still have to achieve Competent Advisor Status. Some companies opt to take on newly qualified professionals on a self-employed basis while putting them through the process of achieving competency, while others will instead choose to pay a low basic wage to start out with. Depending on the number of hours the trainee can invest, the process can take anywhere from four months up to a year to complete.
When all is said and done, newly qualified CeMAP holders are best advised to simply browse the listings on sites like Indeed, Reed and totaljobs.com, to see what positions currently require the qualification; you might end up finding a role that you never would have expected yourself to fill.
