49649 FETC: LONG TERM INSURANCE

The purpose of the Qualification is to build knowledge and skill required by employees in Long-term Insurance who have had schooling at or below NQF level 4. It serves as a bridging Qualification into Long-term Insurance as learners will not have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills as part of the school curriculum. It is intended to empower learners to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required to operate confidently as individuals in the South African community and to respond to the challenges of the economic environment and changing world of work in the financial services industry. It should add value to the qualifying learner in terms of enrichment of the person, status and recognition.

As a Qualification that covers Long-term Insurance related learning, it provides a framework for learners to develop competencies that will give them insight into the Long-term Insurance sub sector. It introduces a basic understanding of the key terms, rules, concepts and principles of the field that will enable learners to be informed workers in the industry. It provides a balanced learning experience that allows flexible access to life long learning, higher education and to productive employment in Long-term Insurance. It provides an opportunity for learners to learn and apply academic skills in relation to the workplace and will allow for multi-skilling.

The FETC: Long-term Insurance allows the individual to work towards a nationally recognised Qualification. It is flexible enough to accommodate both learners in formal education and learners already employed in the Long-term Insurance sector. The focus is on basic information gathering, analysis, presentation and the ability to apply knowledge of the field to solve routine problems within given frameworks.

Qualifying learners should be knowledgeable about and competent in:

• Carrying out basic research, information gathering and analysis.
• Interpreting current affairs and their influence on Long-term Insurance.
• Communication and mathematical literacy at a level that allows them to operate effectively in the financial services industry.
• Behaviour and ethics in a work environment and the implications, consequences and liability arising out of non-compliance with relevant legislation.
• Managing aspects of personal finances.
• Knowledge of Long-term products including group retirement benefits, life and healthcare.
• Customer care including internal and external customers.
• Understanding the key terms, rules, concepts and principles of the Long-term sub-sector in general and their chosen career path in particular.
• Application of the law of contract in Long-term Insurance.These Unit Standards are intended as building blocks for the further development of skills that will make the learner a more fulfilled, informed, efficient and cost effective worker in the industry. This should result, in turn, in more effective and efficient service to the consumer and should make the industry more competitive in the global market.Rationale:The FETC: Long-term Insurance replaces the National Certificate in Long-term Insurance: NQF Level 4, after review. The National Certificate in Long-term Insurance: NQF Level 4 was previously registered in 2001 to meet the needs of learners in a variety of positions in the Long-term Insurance sub-sector which includes life insurance, retirement and group benefits and Healthcare Benefits Administration. The FETC: Long-term Insurance is a generic Qualification with specialisation in a selected career path in the Long-term Insurance industry.

  The original Qualification has been expanded and is now a more holistic Qualification than the previous Qualification. It is a first step for learners who:

• Have attained the National Certificate in Insurance: Level 3 and wish to continue on a path of life-long learning specialising in Long-term Insurance.
• Were previously disadvantaged or who were unable to complete their schooling and were therefore denied access to Further Education and Training.
• Have worked in the Long-term Insurance sub sector for many years, but have no formal Qualifications in their area of specialisation and wish to extend their range of skills and knowledge of the industry so that they can become knowledge workers in the industry.
• Are in a learnership agreement in the Long-term Insurance sub sector.
• Have recently taken up a position in Long-term Insurance.Learners employed in Long-term Insurance at this level may be Administrators, Consultants, Personal Assistants, Secretaries, Service Centre Staff or Category B Intermediaries, Term Broker Consultants, Client Liaison Officers, IT Systems Designers and Analysts in Long-term organisations, Product Developers or Business Analysts in Personal or Corporate Benefits, Marketing or Life Administration. They do work that requires an understanding of the Long-term sub-sector within the context of the Financial Services Industry and some specialisation in their selected career path. They require insurance knowledge at a fundamental level and are required to interpret information and may be required to adjust an application of Scheme/Policy rules. Trustee training has been identified as a necessity by the Department of Finance and the Financial Services Board.

• Communication at NQF Level 3
• Mathematical Literacy at NQF Level 3
• Computer Literacy at NQF Level 3Recognition of prior learning:
• The FETC: Long-term Insurance allows open access. Provision has been made for prior learning to be recognised if a learner is able to demonstrate competence in the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes implicit in this Qualification. Application for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) should be made to a relevant accredited ETQA.
• Credit towards a Unit Standard is subject to quality assurance by a relevant accredited ETQA and is conducted by a workplace assessor.
• This Qualification can be obtained in part or in whole through Recognition of Prior Learning.
• RPL will be done using a range of assessment tools and techniques that have been jointly decided upon by the learner and the assessor.
• The same principles that apply to assessment of the Qualification and its associated Unit Standards apply to RPL.