How could an ICA course help advance your career?
When we started working in the law firm risk and compliance space around 10 years ago, there wasn't a training provider that stood out as providing relevant courses and things that were on offer were very financial services driven. However, while there are other providers out there, the International Compliance Association has emerged as a market leader over the last few years.
The number of courses offered by the ICA has increased, and the subject increased in relevancy to law firm risk and compliance specifically. There are now a huge array of courses, from cheaper short courses and certificates to advanced post-graduate diplomas.
How could an ICA course help advance your career?
Training courses from the ICA could help you develop your understanding of key areas of risk and compliance and invest in your interests. While we don't generally see firms asking for this experience as a pre-requisite, it does happen. A diploma in compliance alone isn't likely to open doors or unlock promotions at this stage, however, it is a really useful tool that more and more people are investing in.
At a junior level, while a qualification like this isn't necessary, it would demonstrate to a potential employer that your interest in this space is genuine and that you are serious about pursuing this career path. If you haven't got any meaningful experience in risk and compliance under your belt yet, it could be difficult to convince an interview panel that you mean business.
A panel could assume that you're also pursuing paralegal roles and training contracts, as many of your peers are likely to be. But, if you have an ICA certificate or a similar qualification, it will tell the panel that you have invested some of your own time and money in this area, demonstrating your commitment to the career.
In a competitive market, a specialist certificate could give your CV an edge over another similar candidate. If a hiring panel has two CVs with similar levels of experience, but one has an ICA qualification, that CV might have the edge.
If you're working in a narrow role and want to branch out to a broader role, you could get exposure to areas of compliance that you're not able to get in your current role, expanding your CV and hireability.
It might help you work out what you're really passionate about, and even what you're not interested in. When deciding what to specialise in, a certificate or diploma might give you some extra information and insight into what various career options could actually look like.
A trend is emerging of more and more firms paying for their employees to take these courses, which is great news for anyone looking to upskill and explore their area of focus further with hopes of ultimately advancing their career and improving their prospects. It’s important to be aware that your firm could request these funds to be returned if you were to leave quickly after completing the course.
Short courses start from £200 and introductory courses from £645 plus VAT. Use our exclusive discount code ‘AJFOX10’ at enrollment for 10% off any course.
If you’re not sure what course might be right for you, give our team a call on 0207 117 2542, email us at jobs@ajfoxcompliance.com, or fill in the ICA’s course-finder form.
Get all the latest Law Firm Risk & Compliance news in your inbox with our free monthly newsletter. We're here to keep you in the loop!