Earlier this year the Society of Will Writers through the College of Will Writing its training division, and without any fanfare launched a fully interactive LMS on-line distance learning course, entitled Getting Started – an Introduction to Wills and Estate Planning Certificate Distance Learning Course.
Why a residential course when we already have the College firmly established in Lincoln as the leading start-up provider for Will Writers entering the profession and suitable for established practitioners to brush up on their knowledge?
Over the past few years the Society has grown internationally, we have members in every part of the globe, providing Wills and estate planning primarily for ex-pats with UK assets from the Cayman Islands to Singapore and beyond.
Although originally designed to cater solely for our overseas students, a welcome but unexpected offshoot of this is that we have also picked up a lot of students wishing to train through the College, but personal commitments make it difficult if not impossible to be away from home for long periods.
So, what do we offer, hopefully as is usual, a package that goes above and beyond the normal.
The course, Getting Started, the content and more details you can see on the www.collegewillwriting.co.uk, is broken down into four basic modules and each of the modules are further broken down into extensive but bite-sized sections.
Throughout the course, the student is required to complete various assignments and submit them to their tutor for comment, in the new year we are introducing multi-choice questions. At every stage and page there is a button to access their tutor by email, alternatively they can email the office directly and request a call back.
The course is designed mainly for those entirely new to the profession but is equally useful to the established practitioner as a refresher course. Being an on-line course, it is constantly updated, and all students are automatically notified of any updates or changes.
One question we are constantly asked is “how long does it take” and as a guide over the past 8 months the average time to complete the course, up to exam ready has been around 50 hours, there is no time limit set, but students can retain access to the course material for up to 12 months following registration regardless of whether they have taken the exam or not.
Providing the right training to enable the student to progress in their personal development, and at their own pace, and to enable and encourage them to progress on to CILEX or STEP courses should they so wish, is essential to the Society of Will Writers ethos to promote and develop the profession through its Members.
There are people who get more out of training by being in a classroom environment, and this will always be the College of Will Writing preferred method, and is still the favourite with students, the distance learning course has not been introduced to replace the class room, rather to compliment it and provide training for all, to encourage more people into the industry, and for the Society through membership to support and guide Members in their chosen career to a successful future.
For more information visit the web sites at www.willwriters.com and follow the links for the College, or email [email protected] for further information on how to access the courses, costs and availability.
