Not everyone thrives in lecture halls, and that's perfectly fine. Some of the youngest and brightest minds eager for a career in financial services are choosing traineeships over traditional university routes – combining earning with learning whilst building real-world expertise. Here's how one 21-year-old LIBF learner, Amelia Herbert, turned her preference for independent learning into a qualification success story having completed a CeMAP, CeMAP Diploma, and DipFA with us and she's currently studying for her Adv DipFA exam.
Listening on the go? Watch our interview with Amelia by clicking on the video.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your current role?
"My name's Amelia. I am 21 years old and I'm currently training to be a financial adviser. My current role comprises of paraplanning and a little bit of administration at the moment."
What were you doing before you started your traineeship?
"Before starting my traineeship, I was at college. I studied business, financial studies and history. And then since enjoying financial studies so much, I did want to pursue a career in financial advice. I didn't want to go to uni because I didn't feel like this was the career path for me. So I wanted to get a trainee job where I could learn by taking exams on the job, but also earn money by doing the job as well."
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Why did you feel that university wasn’t for you?
"I felt like university wasn't for me as, although I did enjoy school and college, I feel that structured learning isn't as much for me. I prefer more independent learning where I can learn in my own time and when I wanted to and how I wanted to. So I preferred more of a trainee job where I did have more of that freedom."
I think having multiple LIBF qualifications definitely puts me in a strong position as a young woman in the financial industry. I think at such a young age, achieving all these as well hopefully inspires other people to want to take these exams.
Amelia Herbert
CeMAP, CeMAP Diploma, DipFA and Adv DipFA learner
What attracted you to the financial industry?
"So I have family that are also in the financial industry. So they definitely encouraged me to take financial studies. But I also thought as I wanted to take business, I thought the financial studies subject would accompany this quite well. And that's why I wanted to take financial studies in college."
Before your traineeship started did you foresee any challenges?
"I think when I started the job as a trainee, I didn't have all the knowledge of what the job was going be like, because I felt like it's such a big job, there's so many different aspects to it, so I think that was probably more of my uncertainty of the job. But since starting, you get a full grasp of what the job is about."
What was a typical day like during those first few weeks of the traineeship?
"The first few weeks of my traineeship comprised of sitting with other colleagues and the other advisers and learning what their job role was. And then after learning what their job role, was them teaching me what my job role was, which at the start it's basically learning from the bottom up. So I did a lot of the administration work.
You did the printing, scanning, so you definitely learn from the top to bottom of what the job is."
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What skills have you developed in your traineeship that you never expected to gain?
"I think with my traineeship, I've definitely become better with communication, whether that's talking over the phone to people, which I feel like it's probably quite scary to some, but the more you do it, the more confident you get with communication and just learning things that I've never done before, like the reviews, writing reports, doing paraplanning, everything's new so anything that you do is an accomplishment."
Has your confidence grown through your traineeship and completing your LIBF qualifications?
"I feel as though my confidence has definitely grown since starting my traineeship and also completing further studies with the LIBF. I think studying definitely gives you that knowledge and the background of the job and makes you confident when you're doing the job. And the traineeship has made me confident in the fact that you don't know much of it before, and then the more you know, the more confident you get with completing your job role"
What’s been your most proud moment?
"I think my proudest moment since starting work and also since starting my studies was achieving my DipFA within a year of starting my job at the firm I'm at. I think that was definitely my proudest moment."
Has the traineeship exceeded your expectations?
"I think the reality of the role has definitely exceeded my expectations. I think that I've accomplished a lot more than what I thought I would do, and I feel like I've definitely advanced in the role that I do at the firm quicker than probably what people would probably expect as well."
What advice would you give to others seeking a traineeship in financial advice?
"I think my advice to someone that's wanting to apply for a traineeship is that you definitely have to be open-minded. You are most probably gonna be learning from the bottom, and even though you might not think that sounds very good, it definitely is, you need to learn how the whole business works, how the whole role of a financial adviser works.
You're not just going to be made a financial adviser. You need to work towards it. You need to put in the effort. I would definitely recommend for someone to become a financial adviser as it is a very rewarding job and you need to work towards that."
How do you feel having multiple LIBF qualifications will help your career?
"I think having multiple of these qualifications definitely puts me in a strong position as a young woman in the financial industry. I think at such a young age, achieving all these as well, hopefully inspires other people to want to take these exams as well."
The power of choice
Amelia's journey showcases the power of choosing an educational path that matches your learning style. Her impressive collection of qualifications – CeMAP, CeMAP Diploma, DipFA, and now working towards Advanced DipFA – proves that alternative routes can deliver exceptional results.
Ready to explore your own path in financial advice? LIBF (part of Walbrook Institute London) offers flexible study options that fit around your career goals, whether you're starting fresh or advancing your existing role.
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