Here at First Financial, we take pride in supporting our team members. We encourage them to develop their skills and provide them with many different training opportunities.
One of these programs is the Financial Adviser Professional Year and we are excited to have another three team members on the journey to becoming fully qualified advisers.
Nathaniel Johnston, Nick Donato and Savita Dhillon are all progressing through the second quarter of their Professional Year and they have given us insight to their journey so far… and what they hope for the future.
Nathaniel Johnston
Nathaniel joined First Financial in April 2021 and promptly started his program once his probation period was complete in October. Much of the first quarter was listening and observing, reinforcing the knowledge he already possessed.
“Completing the Professional Year is a required step to become an adviser, which is the path I want to head down. Timing was great for me because I had just finished my diploma and I knew the new intake into the program was about to happen.
Chris encouraged me to try and keep my education moving forward so that I can get to the next level in my career. So basically, two weeks after my probation ended, I was arranging meetings so that I could get started on the program! It’s reassuring to know that I have the support of the firm to develop my skills and push ahead to become an adviser.”
Having just completed his first quarter, Nathaniel is looking forward to creating statements of advice and being more involved in client meetings as the program progresses.
Nick Donato
Nick has been an Adviser Assistant for several years and started his Professional Year in August 2021. He continues to expand his knowledge and experience.
“I’ve been going to more meetings, and I spent a lot of the first quarter observing… the beginning of the program is all about formalising and refreshing the knowledge you have from your education. I’m really looking forward to increasing my involvement and being more active in meetings.
Working with David, I’ll start to run parts of the meetings under his guidance. The final goal is to be able to host the meeting on your own in the lead up to becoming an adviser. David has given me valuable feedback and is helping me to fine tune my skills. The support from the firm is great, and I’m really hoping to complete the program by the end of the year. It will depend on when the FASEA exam is held, but that’s what I’m aiming for.”
Savita Dhillon
Savita is a newer member of our Adviser Assistant team but she has her eyes firmly focused on her career development. She believes the Professional Year is helping her become the best adviser she can be.
“I like how the process enables us to record everything we do on a day to day basis. It helps me make sure I cover off every aspect of my learning. It enables me to improve both my soft skills and my technical skills and I know that when I have completed the program I will have acquired all the knowledge I need to start taking on a few small clients.
The program is helping me shape my skills… subconsciously I am learning so much while I am an assistant. I believe that being an adviser is such an important role, so I want to make sure I learn everything bit by bit – one step at a time. That way, I will feel more confident that I have sound knowledge that will benefit me well into the future.”
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