Wake Forest University said it will open a new professional hub for financial services and fintech in uptown Charlotte. The new course offerings are designed for working professionals, leading to a range of industry-recognized certifications and designations.
Wake Forest said it has partnered with Kaplan to provide the courses, marketing and recruitment, as well as assistance with curriculum, course development and content.
“Charlotte is recognized as the nation's second largest financial center. Wake Forest is launching these expanded options to support the ongoing professional development of individuals and organizations in the growing financial services and fintech sectors," said Todd Johnson, vice president at the university.
The new hub will initially provide instruction in over 30 topics focused on issues and credentials relevant to the ever-changing financial and fintech sectors in the U.S., including financial services licensing; cybersecurity training; professional designations in advanced financial services; data science; analytics literacy; accountancy; and wealth management certifications.
Kaplan Professional and sister companies CyberVista and Metis Data Science will provide subject matter expertise and training alongside existing Wake Forest University faculty.
The courses will be delivered through traditional classrooms, live online instruction, asynchronous online courses and with additional learning tools designed to meet the needs of the professional learner.
The financial industry in Charlotte has grown significantly since 2000. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of jobs has increased 47.4% since the year 2000, compared with 11.7% growth for the United States as a whole.
The financial services and fintech hub plans to host top speakers and subject matter experts from the Charlotte area and across the U.S. addressing topics of interest in the areas of finance, fintech and data security. Courses and events will be hosted from Wake Forest’s uptown campus, which boasts a 30,000-square-foot state-of-the-art learning facility.
