The head of the Paraplanner Powwow movement has called for the creation of a Paraplanning academy to help inject much needed fresh blood into the sector.
Richard Allum CFPCM, who founded the unconventional tepee-based conferences, which have become hugely popular among Paraplanners, made the call yesterday afternoon.

Expanding on the theme of his speech at the IFP Paraplanning Conference in May, Mr Allum reiterated the need for the profession to recruit more young people.

Speaking at the third national Paraplanners Powwow in Aynho, Northamptonshire, Mr Allum said: “There’s no Paraplanning body, there’s no one really from the voice of Paraplanning.

“There’s a massive place for a Paraplanning academy. A Paraplanning academy supported by a professional body or large firm would be a great way to get fresh blood in.”

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Mr Allum, an IFP board member, said the problem in many firms was that “people want a Paraplanner straight out of the box, to hit the ground running, someone off the production line.”

A lot of students looking at financial services are after a “sexy city bank job” and they have “never heard of Paraplanning half of the time”.

Mr Allum, founder of Oxfordshire-based outsourced Paraplanning firm The Paraplanners, wants to take the Paraplanning message to careers fayres around the country – and perhaps even form a ‘Paraplanners Careerwow’.

He said: “It could be that we give up an evening to go and talk about Paraplanning (at the fayres). We will start to work on that and if there are any willing volunteers, they would be very welcome.”

He opened up the debate about new entrants to the assembled group of Paraplanners during the last session of the day.

One young Paraplanner was applauded by fellow professionals after telling his own story about how he made it into the profession. He explained that he had had to self fund his diploma to get an opportunity in the first place.

He said he had felt a burning desire to become part of the profession but it had been difficult to make that first step.

Mr Allum said considering the increasingly huge demand to recruit Paraplanners and the lack of supply, it was “weird” to hear stories like this. He said it is hard not to wonder what is going on in the sector when willing trainees are not being given a proper chance or route into the profession.