Why go through an immigration course or OISC course?
Continuing Professional Development of CPD is one of the core areas for anyone working as an UK immigration advisor. The OISC mandates that every registered and exempted advisor goes through CPD so that remain competent and can retain their OISC certification. Failure to do a certain hours of CPD may result in cancellation of certification or exemption and getting them back could be a Herculean task. And as part of this CPD you can go through an immigration course or OISC course.
The good part about CPD is that it is free of cost. The CPD year is calculated from 1st April to 31st March where you need to go through a pre-decided hours of education. If you are a level 1 advisor you need to go through 8 hours of training. Of this you need to spend 6 hours on the core subjects and 2 hours on the non-core subjects. This increases to 12 hours if you are a level 2 advisor (9 hours on core subjects and 3 hours on non-core subjects). For level 3 advisors the requirement is 16 hours (12 hours on core subjects and 4 hours on non-core subjects). As part of your CPD you also need to go through immigration course or OISC course where you decide what you want to learn.
CPD and immigration course or OISC course cover a range of subjects related to UK immigration advisory services. The core subjects relate to UK and EEA immigration and asylum laws. The non-core subjects relate to management skills, professional development skills and personal development skills that include communication, computer knowledge and administration). Non-core subjects also relate to asylum and immigration laws and any other speciality knowledge that you need in your work area.
One of the points to note about any immigration course or OISC course is that it has been accredited by one of the designated professional bodies. The Law Society could be on these designated professional bodies. So, before you opt for any course you should ensure that it is accredited and accepted by the OISC. Otherwise the hours that you spend on the course will not be counted as part of your CPD. Additionally you should also ensure that the course is being conducted by an accredited agency. Go to the website of the OISC and see whether the agency in question is listed in it or not.
These courses also depend on the level of UK immigration advisor you are. So, if you are a level 1 advisor the course content will be different from the course content if you are a level 3 advisor. It is advised that you spend some time online to understand what you need to do and how it is going to affect you positively in your professional career.
So, as you can see it is mandatory that you go for an accredited immigration course or OISC course so that you can continue to work under the rules and codes of standards of the OISC. These courses are meant to be for your professional development.
The best immigration course or OISC course will shape you for a career in UK immigration advisory services.