Development & Training Policy

The Institute is committed to training employees to ensure that they have the skills to perform their role and it encourages employees to develop themselves to their fullest as individuals.

 

The Institute provides employees with development opportunities including coaching; working on projects, attending briefing sessions, workshops, in-house training, Institute training courses, and the CPD scheme. This may also include external training courses, and long-term study leading to qualifications. Employees may discuss and agree development needs, and a training plan with their manager.

 

CISI CPD Scheme

The CISI has a CPD scheme for all employees accessed on the CISI website. There are a wide range of Professional Refreshers, CISI TV, webinars and other courses available covering a variety of topics.

 

Learning about the Financial Services Industry

New employees with less than five years relevant industry experience will need to pass the ‘Fundamentals of Financial Services’ within three months of joining the CISI, to learn about the Financial Services Industry. If a manager feels it is not appropriate, they can advise HR on why the employee does not need to complete Fundamentals. The employee will get paid time off to take the exam and one day’s paid study leave for the first sitting of the exam (which must be booked in advance).

 

New Employees

All new employees are required to take the following professional refreshers in order to pass their probationary period:

• UK Bribery Act

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

• Cyber Security: How to Keep You and the CISI Safe

• Diversity and Inclusion

which are in addition to, ‘Integrity Matters’ Current Employees

Each year employees are required to take the UK Bribery Act, General Data Protection Regulation and

Cyber Security: How to Keep You and the CISI Safe Professional Refreshers which must be confirmed by their manager at their appraisal.

 

In addition, it is recommended that employees in Business Development and Qualifications take the Regulatory Landscape Professional Refresher.

 

When considering external training, it is essential to first determine whether the training requirement is relevant to the employee’s career at CISI. The training may not be currently relevant to their role; but instead opens opportunities for increased responsibility in the future. Determining relevance is the responsibility of the employee’s Line Manager and should be discussed with the department Director/HR if needed.

 

As described in Section 1 above, the Institute has a wide range of training available in-house, so before opting for external training it is important to fully investigate the internal/ free options available. The below flow chart demonstrates this process.

 

 

*Please see the table below for the equivalent amount in other offices *

 

Training under £150 per annum that has been agreed by a manager should be purchased by the individual attending the training. A valid receipt should then be submitted via webexpenses and allocated to training code 2160. If a charities discount is available, or if you have any questions, then please contact HR@cisi.org.

 

Courses (between one hour and less than 5 days)- where work related

• The Institute will pay for the course fees (see above flowchart for approval process)

• The Institute will allow reasonable time off to attend the course

 

Courses with Examinations (not CISI exams) (for a period up to one month) - where work related

• The Institute normally contributes, on a one-time basis, to the course and examination fees

• The Institute will provide an agreed allowance for time to attend the course and exam

• The Institute will provide one day’s paid study leave for the first sitting of up to three exams. (Leave must be booked in advance)

 

Membership of Professional Bodies

The Institute may contribute to the membership fees for an employee (once they have completed their probationary period) to be a member of a professional body, where it is relevant for their job. It is unusual for the Institute to contribute more than the current CISI Fellow membership fee plus 10%.

 

1. CISI will reimburse the subscription fees for an individual provided at least one of the below criteria are met;

 

a. It is a statutory requirement for the employee to be a member, or a license or certificate of practice is required to perform their role;

 

b. The membership is directly related to the role performed by an employee;

 

2. The company will reimburse the cost of one professional membership unless it is required to have more than one membership to perform a particular role.

 

3. The company will reimburse the cost of one professional membership that does not directly relate to an individual’s role, if approved by a Director. The value reimbursed will be up to a maximum value equal to the equivalent CISI membership.

 

4. All reimbursements for UK employees need to be submitted and approved through the expense claim process, accompanied by an invoice/ receipt. UK employee professional memberships are not to be paid by corporate credit card (including virtual cards) or through the supplier invoicing process as the memberships are invoiced to the individual.

 

5. International reimbursements can be submitted and approved through the expense claim process, accompanied by an invoice / receipt, or can be paid directly by submitting an approved invoice to accounts payable. This concession is due to the relative cost of some memberships internationally.

 

6. The above is in addition to membership of CISI.

 

This applies to any courses / qualifications requiring more than one month of study.

 

For an employee to be considered for support to undertake long-term study leading to a qualification the following criteria will apply:

• Possess one year’s satisfactory service with the Institute as a permanent employee

• Evidence of a good attendance record

 

• The qualification is relevant to their job

• The qualification should not take more than 3 years to obtain

 

Support is available on the following basis

• The cost of the qualification, in terms of time and money, are normally shared between both parties, as there are mutual benefits to both the individual and the Institute.

• The Institute will provide an agreed level of paid time to attend classes (if applicable) and take exams

• The Institute may provide up to one day’s study leave per exam, and two days for dissertation work

• The maximum amount of support available is £2,000 per year (please see the table below for the equivalent amount in other offices).

• The employee’s level of contribution towards the fees will depend on a number of factors including the relevance of the qualification, if paid time off is needed, the level of fees, their work performance, and if other training is needed

 

The employee may be required to repay the full cost or a pro-rata proportion (depending on a number of factors including the relevance of the qualification and the level of Institute’s support and contribution) of the fees paid by the Institute in the following circumstances:

1. They leave the Institute’s employment during the period they are undertaking the course;

2. They do not complete the course;

3. They leave the Institute within a set period after the end of the completion of the course/ qualification.

 

Process for applying for long-term study support:

 

The individual is required to make an application to their Director and to HR for support via the Cascade HR Portal “Training – request for long term support form”, outlining the benefits to the Institute, the benefits to the individual, the relevance of the qualification, details of the total finance costs, amount being sought, and time commitment.

 

Where the course lasts more than one year, at the annual appraisal your line manager / Director will review the individual’s progress and the Institute reserves the right to defer or stop support if the individual no longer continues to meet the above criteria or where performance is no longer fully satisfactory.

Final approval may be sought from the Chief Executive.