Wealth manager St James’s Place is celebrating the 100th Paraplanner to graduate from its Academy.

The 100th graduate is Rachel Whittaker, a Paraplanner at SJP Partner Practice Oakmere Wealth Management in the North West.

She joined the company in March 2017 in the role of Financial Planning Administrator before studying to become a Paraplanner.

She previously worked in a variety of contact centre management roles including a position at British Transport Police where she was responsible for report creation and data analysis in a Crime Recording Centre.

Before joining the Academy, she took a career break to raise her children.

Jason Flood, Academy director at SJP, said: “This is an exciting milestone for the Paraplanner programme, especially given the current circumstances. The dedication shown by all Academists during these difficult times and their commitment to providing quality advice to clients, continues to give me confidence in the future of the Financial Planning and Paraplanning profession.

“We’re really pleased to see another cohort graduate, and that the Academy has been able to overcome the challenges lockdown measures have brought while continuing to provide learning and development opportunities to new talent in the industry.”

Ms Whittaker said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be the 100th Paraplanner graduate. Before starting this career path, I had taken a break to raise my family, and also moved from a career outside of financial services, so the programme has allowed me to start from the basics and work my way up. It’s been hard work, but I’ve felt supported every step of the way. Now fully qualified, I am working as a Decision-Making Paraplanner.”

The SJP Academy has 102 individuals currently at various stages of the Paraplanner programme, and 472 people across all three of its programmes.