FAQs

1. How do I know if the course I attended is eligible under the Scheme?

You may refer to a full list of eligible courses under Eligible Training Programmes in this website where the list will be updated regularly for the approved courses / seminars. 

2. How would I know if my employment is eligible under the Scheme?

Eligible applicants must be:

1. a full-time in-service practitioner (not necessarily in the field of asset and wealth management) on the commencement date
    of the course concerned, employed under:

1. a financial institution licensed with or registered by the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571); or
2. a financial institution licensed with or registered by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”); or
3. an insurer authorised or any insurance intermediaries licensed under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41); or
4. a firm or corporate practices registered with the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council("AFRC"); or
5. a trust company registered under Part 8 of the Trustee Ordinance (Cap. 29) or any trustees approved by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority ("MPFA") under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485); or
6. a trust or company service provider licensed by the Companies Registry under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615); or
7. a recruitment agency engaged by any eligible financial institutions within the scope of the above-mentioned to provide personnel; or
8. a member company of a group of which at least one of the relevant subsidiaries is an eligible financial institution within the scope of the above-mentioned; OR
   
   

2. An individual who is not under full-time employment at the time of attending the courses but previously has been licensed
    and employed in the manner as beow at any time during the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025:

1. a licensed individual in full-time employment with a Financial Institution licensed by the SFC; or
2. a licensed securities staff in full-time employment with an authorised institutions registered with the HKMA; or
3. a licensed individual insurance agents / Technical Representatives (Agent) / Technical Representatives (Broker); or
4. a certified public accountant registered with the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("HKICPA") and in full-time employment with a firm or corporate practice registered with the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council ("AFRC").

An exemption from the full-time employment requirement under 1.3 above will ONLY be granted to the following practitioners from 1 April 2020 onwards:

• Licensed Individual Insurance Agents
• Licensed Technical Representatives (Agent)
• Licensed Technical Representatives (Broker)

Such type of applicant has to be an insurance intermediary licensed by the Insurance Authority (“IA”) where the Principal is an insurer authorised or an insurance intermediary licensed under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41).

Additional information may be required to prove the contractual relationship between the applicant and the principal.

3. How could I check if the financial institution which I work for is eligible under the Scheme?

You may check if your employer (or the financial institution you are assigned by the recruitment agency to work for, where applicable) is licensed by or registered with the respective regulator through the following public registers:

1. “Public register of licensed persons and registered institutions” for a financial institution licensed with or registered by the SFC under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571);
2. any of the following three registers/list for a financial institution licensed with or registered by the HKMA:
   
   

   a. “Register of AIs & LROs” for an authorised institution / a local representative office

   b. “Register of SVF Licensees” for a stored value facility

   c. “List of approved money brokers” for a money broker

3. the following registers for an insurer authorised and for an insurance intermediary licensed under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41):
   
   

   a. “Register of Authorized Insurers” for an insurer

   b. “Register of Licensed Insurance Intermediaries” for an insurance intermediary

4. “Find a CPA Firm / Corporate Practice” for a firm or a corporate practice registered with the AFRC;
5. “List of Hong Kong registered trust companies” under the Hong Kong Trustees’ Association (“HKTA”) (available for HKTA members only) for a trust company registered under Part 8 of the Trustee Ordinance (Cap. 29) or
   
   

   “List of MPF Approved Trustees” for a trustee approved by the MPFA under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485)

   
   

   Alternatively, online public search services are provided through the Integrated Companies Registry Information System (“ICRIS”).

6. “Register of Trust or Company Service Provider Licensees” for a trust company or a company service provider licensed by the Companies Registry under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615).

4. What do I need to provide if I am a full-time outsourced staff of an eligible financial institution where my employment contract is signed with a recruitment agency appointed by the concerned eligible financial institution?

You are required to submit two company letters, with one issued by the concerned eligible financial institution that you are assigned to work for, and one by the recruitment agency which employs you.

In the letter, both companies shall certify that:

• you are in full-time employment with the recruitment agency which assigned you to work for the concerned eligible financial institutions on a full-time basis as of the commencement date of the course, and
• no subsidy or any other form of financial assistance for the 80% of the course fees to be reimbursed under the Scheme has been provided to you.

The application will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis depending on whether a working or contractual relation between the applicant and the the concerned eligible financial institution can be demonstrated if it does NOT provide any certification.

5. Who are considered to be in-service practitioners?

In-service practitioners refer to all full-time employees of any of the eligible employers as specified in question 2 above including but not limited to:

• front office: trading, research, structuring, sales, corporate finance, relationship management, fund management;
• infrastructure groups: operations, sales support, information technology, settlement;
• risk management;
• finance and accounting;
• legal & compliance;
• internal audit; and
• human resources;

OR

Any individual insurance intermediary including:

• Licensed Individual Insurance Agents,
• Licensed Technical Representatives (Agent), and
• Licensed Technical Representative (Broker)

6. Who should endorse my employment status if I am an insurance agent with more than ONE principal?

If you are appointed by two or more principals and

• none of them in long term business: one completed employment certification form / company letter issued by the major appointing principal in general business is required;
• one of them in long term business: one completed employment certification form / company letter issued by the appointing principal in long term business is required;
• more than one of them in long term business: one completed employment certification form / company letter issued by the major appointing principal, which is expected to be the employer of the applicant, in long term business is required.

(Note: The contact details of other principal(s) in long term business may be required for verification purpose.)

7. Can I apply for course fee reimbursement if I receive partial sponsorship from my employer and/or other publicly-funded schemes?

You are required to confirm that you have not received any other form of subsidy or financial assistance for the 80% of the course fees to be reimbursed under the Scheme from any publicly-funded schemes and/or your employer.

8. Can I apply for course fee reimbursement for multiple courses in one application?

Yes. You may apply for the course fee reimbursement of multiple courses in one application as long as it is submitted within 4 months from the end date (please refer to Q.10) of the individual training courses attended and the employment status was the same when you attended the courses (i.e. either under employment by the same employer or in between jobs).

If you apply for multiple courses in one application, the employment period as stated in the employment certification form/company letter should cover the commencement date(s) of all courses concerned. If you have changed jobs during the period when you have taken multiple courses, you may still apply for course fee reimbursement of multiple courses in one application but should submit separate employment certification forms/employment letters from the corresponding employers (please refer to Q.9).

Each course will be reviewed independently based on the completion criteria set by the training provider(s).

9. Do I need to submit separate employment certification forms/company letters from my employer if I apply for multiple course fee reimbursements in one application?

No. As long as the employment period in your employment certification form/company letter covers the commencement date(s) of all courses concerned, ONE employment certification form/company letter would suffice.

You are required to list out all attended courses in exact names per the official receipt, as the employer (and the company you are assigned to work for in case of outsourced staff) is required to certify that no subsidy or any form of financial assistance for the 80% of the course fees to be reimbursed under the Scheme has been provided to you.

If you have enrolled in a package course with multiple units/modules in ONE single payment, you should state the name of the package course, which has to be exactly the same as the one per the official receipt.

Self-certification of one’s own employment status is NOT accepted.

10. Which date would be treated as the course end date for a course with multiple classes?

The date of the last class will be the course end date under normal circumstances, subject to possible different arrangements specified by training providers.

For some courses with end-of-course assessment (e.g. Certificate for Module (Enhanced Competency Framework on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism Professional Level)), training providers may regard the date of passing the assessment as the course end date.

In case of uncertainty, applicants shall check with the training provider(s) for confirmation.

11. Would there be any different procedures if I enrol in a package course of Trust Training Certificate offered by the Hong Kong Trustees' Association and Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute?

Each course fee reimbursement application will be reviewed individually based on the supporting documents submitted and the completion criteria set by the training provider(s).

For instance, there are seven units in the package course of “Trust Training Certificate - Part A”. The applicant may have fully attended Units 1 to 5 but only 50% for Unit 6 and 80% for Unit 7. Consequently, the applicant will only be entitled to the reimbursement for Units 1 to 5 as the training provider requires a 100% attendance.

Applicant may submit application for partial reimbursement of course fee for completed individual unit/module among the packaged course, even if the whole package course is not completed in full. The course end date will be the last day of the completed individual unit/module.

12. Can I apply for reimbursement for the same course more than once?

No. Each course can only be reimbursed once regardless of the delivery mode (face-to-face or webinar).

13. Can I submit the application offline?

No, you can only submit the online application and upload required documents to the online application portal “Reimbursement Application” before submitting the duly-signed application form (Section C – Declaration and Annex A - Deed of Undertaking) with a copy of Hong Kong Identity Card to the HKSI Institute’s office.

14. Do I still need to provide a set of application form in hard copy after I submitted the application online?

Yes. After submitting the application form online, you are required to print out the completed application form and sign on it (Section C – Declaration and Annex A - Deed of Undertaking).

For in-service practitioners, you may also print the “Form to be endorsed by the Employer” as a substitute of the company letter for the employer to sign. Please ensure it is stamped with a proper company chop in the same manner.

You should then send the complete set of duly-signed application form and the copy of Hong Kong Identity Card (please refer to “Application Procedures” under Guide to Applicants) by mail or in person to the HKSI Institute’s office.

For the documents (i.e. Bank Proof, Receipt, Attendance Record, Company Letter) submitted online, you are not required to submit the hardcopies unless requested.

15. What if I have submitted application online but no application number was generated?

The submission might not be successful and you should resubmit the application online. Should you have any questions, please email to us at training@wamtalent.org.hk.

16. Are there any course attendance requirements for applying for course fee reimbursement under the Scheme?

Yes. You should meet the attendance requirements laid down by the respective training providers.

Please note that differerent training providers may have different requirements. For any questions, please check with the corresponding training providers.

17. Do participants need to pass any examination in order to qualify for the reimbursement?

Participants should complete courses up to the course provider's satisfaction to qualify for the reimbursement. Different training providers may have different criteria. Examinations may form part of the assessment for some courses. For details of the satisfactory level, please check with the corresponding training providers. 

18. How can I enrol in the courses that are covered in the Scheme?

You should enrol the courses directly through the respective training providers.

19. Does the Scheme cover in-house training programmes?

In-house training programmes are covered by the Scheme ONLY if they are prelisted in the Eligible Training Programmes on this website and at least 80% of the course fee is paid by the applicant.

20. Is there any difference between the learning modes of “Tuition” and “Tutorial” for Advanced Certificate for Enhanced Competency Framework (ECF) on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) offered by the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers?

Both the tutorial and tuition modes are eligible under the Scheme. However, they are considered to be the same course. You can only apply for reimbursement under the Scheme for either the Tutorial mode or Tuition mode but NOT both.

For details of the courses, you may check with the training provider.

21. Can examination fees be reimbursed under the Scheme?

No. Only course fees will be reimbursed. Examination fees, registration fees, administrative fees, late charges or any other miscellaneous charges are not eligible for reimbursement.

22. What is the deadline for application?

Applicants should submit their applications with all required supporting documents to the HKSI Institute within FOUR months from the course end date. Any late or incomplete application will not be accepted.

For example, if the course end date is 10 May 2024, then the deadline is 9 September 2024.

If the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline will be extended to the next working day. 

All applications for reimbursement will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis, until the funding allocated to the Scheme has been fully committed.

23. How long will it take to reimburse the course fee?

It will take approximately eight weeks for applicants to get reimbursed, subject to complete and satisfactory supporting documents being provided.

If the information provided is incomplete or further clarification is required, applicants will be contacted for clarification or submission of supplementary information. In that case, the processing time may be longer.

If applicants do NOT respond to the queries from the HKSI Institute within eight weeks, the application may be considered withdrawn.

24. How can I know if the reimbursement has been made?

Payment will be made to the successful applicant(s) by direct credit to the bank account specified in the application.

Applicants may inquire the application status, application history and remaining reimbursable amount online via Application Status Enquiry. 

25. Can I amend the application details after I submitted the completed application form?

After the online application is submitted, you are not allowed to make any changes on your application through the online application portal. For any subsequent changes, please contact the HKSI Institute by email or by post immediately. Please make sure you have prepared all the application documents before starting the online application procedure. You are required to complete the online application within 30 minutes after starting the procedure; otherwise, the system will automatically logout without saving all details you have inputted.

26. Can I claim a deduction for the course expenses under the Scheme in my tax return?

You may refer to the Government’s website on Deduction for Expenses of Self-Education for details.

You may also check Schedule 13 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) for a list of institutions that may accredit or recognise training or development courses for the purpose of prescribed course of education.