A programme from Financial Times | IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance has been named on the shortlist for one of this year’s Learning Technologies Awards.

It’s the first time that this corporate learning provider, formed almost three years ago, has entered these Awards. Its programme has been shortlisted for the Learning Technologies Awards in the ‘Best use of learning technologies to ensure compliance – international’ category for its work for the Spanish arm of international bank, Santander.

New Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) European regulations require all professionals who sell or advise on financial instruments to be certified by January 2018. In response, Santander commissioned FT| IE Corporate Learning Alliance to create a customised, certification-based, training programme for 12,000 staff and agents to ensure full MiFID II compliance.

The project involved participants in multiple locations and in an engaging on-demand, seven-module programme that delivered on-time completion to meet the bank’s MiFID II training deadline. The goals were achieved by designing a programme, in line with Santander’s own values, that was ‘simple, personal and fair’.

FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance created a new certification-based programme around the knowledge criteria and competencies required by the EU regulator that allowed mass training with the flexibility of ‘learning-at your-own-pace’ and support throughout the course.

To meet the roll-out demands of the large number of users, an online platform was created that could simultaneously reach all 12,000 participants. A system of smaller cohorts of 80 participants was also designed to allow the monitoring, tutoring and management of participants’ progress during the first year of the programme.

The training will continue at Santander for three years to meet the needs of the bank’s new hires.

All sessions, training materials, presentations, videos and exercise documents, provided in Spanish, were made available on the online platform at all times to allow participants to study at their own pace. Cohort members were encouraged to progress together, and support was given to any individuals who fell behind – so that they could all take the final MiFID II exam at the same time.

The online platform allowed participants from across Spain to access the course content remotely. Because the regulator required the exam to be taken in person, FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance worked with an exam logistics provider, Cegos, to organise different sessions in key strategic locations across the country.

The pass rate of the first cohort of the exams was 74%.

The Learning Technology Awards 2017 winners will be announced on 29 November at a gala dinner in London.

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) is the framework of European Union (EU) legislation for investment intermediaries that provide services to clients around shares, bonds, units in collective investment schemes and derivatives (collectively known as ‘financial instruments’) and the organised trading of financial instruments.

MiFID has been revised to improve the functioning of financial markets in the light of the financial crisis and to strengthen investor protection. The changes are currently set to take effect from 3 January 2018, with the new legislation known as MiFID II.