Last year, advisory firm Edward Jones launched a program sponsoring financial courses at 18 colleges and universities, in a partnership with the Securities Training Corporation, a company offering online securities training courses.

Now several other firms have jumped on the bandwagon, bringing financial services courses to five more schools for the spring semester, STC announced Wednesday.

The new firms partnering with STC are Allstate, Scottrade, Wells Fargo and Charles Schwab.

The program is designed to address the expected shortage of financial advisors that will occur in the next decade as older advisors retire. Research organization Cerulli Associates has estimated that 200,000 new advisors will be needed to meet demand in the next decade.

The courses train students to take the Series 7 exam, which are required for those wanting to become registered representatives.

“There is a strong need in the financial industry for incoming qualified financial advisors, and the STC’s partnership with universities across the country is part of a dedicated effort to address this industrywide shortage,” says Paul Weisman, CEO of the New York-based STC.

A 2014 study by Fidelity found that only 15 percent of college students are familiar with the profession, and 45 percent are not aware of companies that employ financial advisors.

The schools adding programs this spring are Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C., (whose program is sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors); Webster University in St. Louis and the University of Missouri, St. Louis (whose programs are sponsored by Scottrade); Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., (whose program is sponsored by Allstate); and DePaul University in Chicago (whose program is sponsored by Charles Schwab).