TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney Institute and The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) have extended their relationship for a further two years and are working together to develop more training programs to benefit the financial services industry.
This productive alliance began in 2002, when the Institute took the lead and became the first to deliver online courses to aspiring mortgage brokers across Australia.
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‘Our Institute knew that MFAA was a prominent industry association for mortgage brokers,’ said Suellen Freeman, Accounting Head Teacher, South Western Sydney Institute. ‘Together we were able to offer a program that was not available anywhere in the industry at the time.’
Certificate IV and Diploma courses in Financial Services are pre-requisites for gaining membership with the MFAA, and the online delivery of these courses has been one of the Institute’s most successful programs. MFAA offers its members a direct link to South Western Sydney Institute to enrol in the online courses.
‘Our teachers have spent a great deal of time developing and refining the online material and course manuals,’ Ms Freeman said. ‘The manuals replicate the online material to give students the opportunity to read offline.
‘A typical mortgage broker works extended hours, so the students can study the manual between meetings. The students’ high course completion rate is due largely to the teachers’ regular, structured support system. This includes online chat services to facilitate the students’ work.’
The online program benefits MFAA by providing consistently high quality courses to their national membership. Another advantage is that the students can enrol in the courses any time.
‘I was most impressed with the medium of online study. It’s so perfect for a busy person trying to prepare for a career change. This way I don’t miss out on money-earning work-time in my current ‘9-5’ job,’ one student said.
South Western Sydney Institute and MFAA are now looking to deliver training to meet members’ continuing professional development requirements.
