Meet Your CEBS Instructor: Nicholas Landry, CEBS

Meet the CEBS Instructor

Learning with others helps you gain a new perspective. Would you like to gain insights from benefits industry peers in different industries, sectors and provinces as well as from an expert instructor? Many CEBS® candidates rely on CEBS Online Study Groups With Instructor Support for extra help on their learning journeys.

CEBS​​ Online Study Groups are an optional educational resource designed to complement the self-study approach. Offered over a 12-week session, Online Study Groups provide structure to your study efforts and are facilitated by established and experienced CEBS professionals.

What does an online instructor do?

Your online instructor has many roles, including:

  • Designing all content and activities in your class to help you retain knowledge and study for your CEBS exam
  • Facilitating live review sessions
  • Monitoring the discussion forum to provide clarification and guidance to learners
  • Creating discussion questions for each module and Benefits in Action Mini Case to stimulate engagement and enhance learning about employee benefits
  • Sharing their real-world experience about being a benefits professional
  • Answering questions that students submit via the discussion forum, email and private message.

A Chat with Nicholas Landry, CEBS

Nicholas Landry, CEBS, ISCEBS-Fellow, CHS
Senior Benefits Consultant, BFL Canada
GBA 2—Managing Benefit Plans Part 2

Nicholas Landry, CEBS
How has earning the CEBS designation enhanced your career?

The CEBS courses test knowledge on a large but relatively static scope of industry knowledge. Access to the ISCEBS continuing education helps with knowing what’s new and what’s developing within our industry, which keeps us ahead of our peers and hopefully two steps ahead of our relationship needs. It’s also an easy way for me to fulfill my CEBS Compliance credits.


What do you think are the biggest key takeaways from GBA 2?

Benefits in Action Mini Cases! That’s right! It’s great that you can write a test, but can you share what you’ve learned in a practical application for an audience?

What has been a recent current event related to concepts your course explores?

As for disability and absence management, Canadian employers have been severely impacted by stay-at-home orders and quarantines during the pandemic. Employers are also extremely resilient and creative. Disability and absence management practices are being stress tested. In the white-collar sector, uptake of individuals working from home or remotely has directly translated to challenges for insurance carriers to adjudicate short- and long-term disability claims. Once practices adapted to meet the demands, a new and undesired outcome occurred with many employees needing ergonomic equipment at home to maintain healthy spines and minds. In the skilled trades and labor markets, personal safety concerns remain omnipresent among workers. Regional governments are applying different methodologies to curb COVID-19 exposures. A national employer may be facing challenges in keeping up with the changing science and regional restrictions to keep employees and their families safe without disrupting workflow.

What are your best study tips for CEBS students?

Keep your study sessions short, focused and frequent. An individual with industry experience will be familiar with the terminology but may have to think differently for testing purposes. Taking smaller bites of content more often usually leads to better long-term retention.

Learn more about CEBS and the CEBS Online Study Groups With Instructor Support.

Do you need guidance on your CEBS journey? Whether you’re about to take your first step or you’re getting close to reaching your designation, we’re here to help!  Give us a call at (844) 809-2698 or email cancebs@ifebp.org.