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Growth

Young blood needed to regenerate 'ancient' industry

by Nick Bendel10 minute read

Brokers have backed a call for more young blood in the industry as the FBAA finalises a “strong marketing push” for its apprenticeship scheme.

FBAA president Peter White appeared on Sky News last week during which he promoted the apprenticeship program and the benefits of attracting young talent.

Mr White told The Adviser that the FBAA was close to finalising a “strong marketing push” to promote finance broking to 600,000 high school and university students across Australia.

Preparations for the campaign are expected to be completed by the end of May. The initiative will include videos, newsletters, website and social media content specifically tailored to young people, he said.

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LCD Homeloans owner Murray Reid said the industry needed more young talent and called on aggregators to lead the push.

“The aggregators are the ones who stand to lose if new members aren’t coming in. I’ve seen a lot of young members get out of the industry since the compliance [requirements] changed with the NCCP,” he said.

“When I go to professional development days now, the majority of people are ancient and retiring in 10 years. I don’t know where the industry is going to go.”

Buyer’s Choice broker Wal Pausin said mortgage broking was an ageing industry with a shortage of young talent.

“Going back 15 years or so, banks were making people redundant and there was always a ready supply of new blood,” he told The Adviser.

“At the grass roots, it should be up to the brokerages. They’re the ones who want the numbers, so they’re the ones who should take the responsibility of training them and nurturing them through the early stages and making them productive.”

Vogue Financial Solutions director Kyle Marshall said all industries needed a regular supply of young talent to bring in new ideas and drive innovation.

However, he added that rookies also had to be prepared to soak up the experience of industry veterans.

Smartline broker Karen Forbes said the industry would be better served by an influx of new brokers aged 35 and up rather than in their late teens or early twenties.

“I think clients are best served by someone who has a lot of experience not only in borrowing and lending but also property,” she told The Adviser.

Ms Forbes said although young brokers might be great at selling a client the cheapest home loan they could lack the maturity to offer more in-depth advice and to build long-term relationships.

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