San Ramon, CA | This week, the Surplus Line Association of California (SLA) debuts live-stream continuing education courses through the SLA Learning Center (https://learningcenter.slacal.com/), with more than 370 members signed up for the initial offering.
“We are excited to offer this service to our members, especially at a time when traditional classroom settings are off-limits due to the restraints imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Benjamin J. McKay, J.D., M.P.A., the SLA’s CEO and Executive Director. “While we could not have envisioned this exact situation, we have been planning these offerings for quite some time, even before the pandemic began. In a digital world, offering high-quality video content is a must, and it gives us a new way to reach and serve our members in California and all over America. That is why we created a new Digital Communications Department last year, and why have built a state-of-the-art, professional studio to create the kind of content our members need. This is part of being a modern, credible leader for our members and stakeholders.”
“I am very proud that the SLA is providing this kind of high-quality educational offering to our 6,000 members,” said Terri Moran, chair of the SLA Board of Directors. “At a time when our professionals cannot go to a classroom, we are bringing the classroom to them. This is exactly what we need in order to ensure that our brokers can comply with their licensing requirements and stay on top of the rapidly evolving world of surplus lines.”
The SLA’s Education and Compliance Department and Digital Communications Department have worked together to launch these live-stream courses, as well as to develop the SLA’s online Learning Center, where individuals can access both live and archived educational video content. The Learning Center launched last year with archived courses and has now taken the next step with live webinars.
The live-stream CE offerings debut Tuesday, August 11 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific time, with frequent lecturer Casey Roberts delivering “Employment Practices for the 2020s.”
Future courses planned through November include management liability (August 19), cannabis (October 13) and errors and omissions (November 17), and interested individuals can find courses and sign up for them at https://learningcenter.slacal.com/.
“We are very proud to be at the cutting edge of delivering continuing education to our members,” said Jo Ann Del Gatto, the SLA’s vice president for Education and Compliance. “In today’s world, making these courses available to surplus lines professionals wherever they happen to be is vital, and we are thrilled to take the next step to serve our community. We encourage everyone who needs continuing education to visit our Learning Center and find the courses that suit their needs.”
“Providing high-quality digital content to our members and stakeholders is not just nice to have in this day and age,” said James Greene, the SLA’s vice president for Digital Communications. “It is a necessity, and we are moving full speed ahead to deliver this type of modern content to the surplus lines community.”