The first Financial Services Practitioner program will be unveiled this September by Seneca College at its Markham, Ont. campus.

The FSP program will be offered over two semesters lasting eight months, during which students will be able earn both their life insurance and mutual funds licences.

The course of study will also include a co-op work term in which students will get hands on experience working in the financial services industry, says Sam Albanese, insurance industry director at Seneca’s Centre for Financial Services.

The practical orientation of the FSP program will lead directly to career possibilities, he notes. “It’s an intensive program that will prepare students to work in the industry.”

Students will be given a foundation in a variety of subjects: life insurance, living benefits, group insurance investing, financial planning, as well as marketing and sales.

Albanese encourages both high school graduates, as well as people who want to begin a second career, to consider the program.

Meanwhile, he says, Seneca plans to “seed” the program to other community colleges across the country, making it more widely available.

Part of the motivation behind the new FSP program, he says, is to help the advisor community cope with “the graying of the industry.” There are very few young advisors around to buy books of business built up by older advisors, he says.

Albanese unveiled plans for the program during a May 31 presentation at the Independent Financial Brokers of Canada’s spring summit in Toronto. The IFB is supporting the program.