The CFP Board of Standards’ Center for Financial Planning is undertaking a number of initiatives to meet the challenges presented by a workforce of professionals that it says is aging, shrinking and lacking diversity, the center announced Tuesday.

The initiatives were developed during the 2016 Design Summit that brought together thought leaders in financial planning, workforce development, diversity and academia to discuss the state of the financial planning profession.

“If we are to meet Americans’ growing demand for personal financial advice, we need a collective effort to transform the face of the financial planning profession,” says Robert J. Glovsky, chair of the Center’s Advisory Council and past chair of CFP Board’s Board of Directors. “Through the efforts outlined in the Design Summit Proceedings, the Center for Financial Planning is well-positioned to be the unifying platform needed to bring about real change in the financial planning profession.”

Among the projects the center will undertake to draw new and diverse people to the profession is a Faces and Voices of Diverse CFP Professionals campaign to showcase leaders in the profession who epitomize gender, racial and age diversity. The advertising campaign that will use various kinds of media will highlight the reasons these professionals pursued CFP certification and why they believe financial planning is a great career, the center says.

A WIN-to-WIN mentorship program announced earlier will connect CFP professionals with women who are working on their CFP certification to provide them with guidance and support.

A Diversity Advisory Group will be established to provide support for the center’s development of other projects related to racial diversity. The barriers to racial diversity will be studied under a research project that will produce recommendations for promoting diversity within the profession.

Several efforts will be aimed directly at creating more ways to enter and re-enter the profession, including pilot projects to support financial services firms in establishing re-entry internship programs for experienced professionals seeking to return to the workforce.

The CFP Board Career Center will be expanded to include a greater number of entry-level positions, as well as internships available to graduates of financial planning programs. Scholarship programs will be established for qualified students seeking to complete the CFP certification and pursue careers in financial planning.

The center also is aiming its efforts at academia and will create the Financial Planning Body of Knowledge, a searchable online compilation of research from financial planning and related disciplines for use by academics, practitioners and the public.

The first Academic Research Colloquium for Financial Planning and Related Disciplines, a forum to showcase relevant research within financial planning and related disciplines, will be held in February in Washington, D.C.