Australian life insurer TAL has just announced that the TAL Risk Academy will be holding another round of virtual masterclasses to help advisers prepare for the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) exam. To date, TAL has run over 90 masterclasses of this nature and has had around 5,000 advisers participate with an “overwhelmingly positive” response, according to Beau Riley, head of licensees and partnerships at TAL.

“Our job at the TAL Risk Academy is to provide advisers with the best learning environment and to adapt to the ever-evolving industry and meet advisers’ needs,” he told Insurance Business.

“We’re proud to continue to develop and invest in opportunities to better serve our community and the masterclasses have helped to make advisers feel confident in the exam.”

Read more: TAL looks to educate Australians on importance of skin safety

Now in its seventh year of running, the TAL Risk Academy now offers more than 70 courses – “many that have been refreshed for 2021,” Riley said.

“The programme has been designed so whether you’re starting out in the industry or are an adviser with many years’ experience, there’s a TAL Risk Academy course to suit,” he noted.

“We’ve always been committed to making the TAL Risk Academy as accessible as possible, which is why most of our courses are free of charge,” Riley added.

Though the Academy’s masterclasses cost $55 a pop, these funds are then donated by TAL to the Australian Business Community Network (ABCN), an initiative that Riley said “helps young Australians from lower socio-economic backgrounds access quality education and reach their full potential.” Since the launch of the Academy in 2015, TAL has raised more than $632,000 for ABCN.

Though the pandemic caused TAL to transition to a virtual classroom style of instruction, the second quarter of 2021 will likely see face-to-face teaching resume pending COVID-19 restrictions and regulations. Riley nevertheless added that “there is a place in the future for both virtual and face-to-face sessions.”

“Many regional advisers have shared their feedback that continuing to offer virtual classes is important,” he stated.