The new regime has no mandatory prerequisite courses, and the exams are based on published competency profiles.Noko LTD/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
With the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization’s new proficiency model launching in less than a month, CIRO has been preparing its delivery portals.
The new assessment-centric proficiency regime for advisors who are investment-dealer-approved persons takes effect Jan. 1. The regime has no mandatory prerequisite courses, and the exams are based on published competency profiles for various categories of approved persons, depending on their roles at dealer firms.
CIRO already has an exam hub that includes a syllabus, study guide and practice exam for the nine role-specific exams. Starting on Jan. 2, the first business day of the new year, candidates and approved persons will be able to choose and pay for exams through the bilingual enrolment portal.
Exams are priced at $475, except for conduct training, which is free. Once enrolled, advisors will be able to access the candidate portal to schedule a remote or in-person exam, see results from completed exams, and share results with their firms.
In the exam delivery portal, candidates will be able to reschedule their exam or switch from remote to in-person (and vice versa) until 36 hours before the scheduled exam time.
CIRO has been working with its education provider, U.K.-based Fitch Learning, to prepare for the launch.
Protecting exam integrity
Exam delivery will be managed by U.S.-based Prometric LLC, which will invigilate remotely as well as in test centres across Canada.
“Test security and exam defensibility are really, really core in any kind of high-stakes regime,” said Kevin Poulton, managing director of product strategy with Fitch Learning in London, U.K., in a presentation to the media last week. “You need the exams to be trusted and you need the security of those exams to be trusted as well.”
He described a mix of computer-based technology tools, location-based security checks and checks for deviation from expected normal behaviour to help ensure candidates can’t access supports that aren’t permitted during an exam.
“Prometric is a global provider of regulatory exams across multiple industries, including other financial services regulatory bodies in different countries, so they’re quite experienced in maintaining the necessary security levels to maintain exam viability,” Mr. Poulton said.
CIRO is also launching an optional firm portal to support bulk enrolment and to allow firms to manage and monitor linked candidates’ progress.
Alongside the Jan. 2 launch, Fitch Learning will provide e-mail and telephone support through a team based in Canada, as well as self-service tools and resources.
“We have ‘hypercare’ in place, ready to help in the first month … as people transition into this," Mr. Poulton said. “We’re confident in the ability to support the service at the scale we expect operationally.”
After the launch, CIRO will focus on ensuring the new model is delivered effectively and make adjustments as necessary.
Sherry Tabesh, vice-president, proficiency, at CIRO in Toronto, said during the same presentation that this effort may include looking at data points such as candidates’ years of experience, years in their current role, educational background, sponsoring firm, and whether their studying was self-directed, through a preparatory course or through firm training.
“We are finalizing the details of this to ensure appropriate collection of the information,” she said.
In the second half of December, CIRO will share screen-capture videos showing how to navigate the new portals. Ms. Tabesh recommended signing up for the CIRO Proficiency eNewsletter for the latest information on the proficiency model and exam delivery.