Now in their second year with Glasgow Credit Union, our three apprentices, Fay, Max and Lewis have become invaluable members of the team and familiar voices to members phoning the office.

For National Apprenticeship Week, we asked them to share what they’ve learned so far, and what advice they would give to other young people who might be interested in choosing the apprenticeship path.

All three apprentices completed their member services training early in their first year, allowing them to deal with share withdrawal, loan, payroll and Direct Debit enquires.

Lewis told us, ‘Our membership services training came first, and our roles involved dealing with various member enquiries. I learned a lot about customer service, and it was a great experience speaking with our members and helping them.’  Max added ‘I learned a variety of soft skills during my time in member services. We also got a really good grounding in procedures such as loans, Direct Debits and complaints handling.’

Now each apprentice has moved into their next phase of development, a three-month rotation working within one of our other key departments – marketing, mortgages, payment support and compliance.

The rotation system gives the apprentices a fuller understanding of how the credit union works, and the services we provide.

Max, who recently finished his rotation within the mortgages team shared – ‘I’ve learned about the underwriting side as well as the mortgage process and the member’s mortgage journey. I now understand how we make decisions on loans and mortgages.’

Fay’s first placement was within the marketing team, which involved a mix of research, creative, statistical and copywriting projects. Fay said ‘I really enjoyed helping to support a major advertising campaign which included creative input into our TV, radio, billboard and social media assets. I was also tasked with creating and publishing various social media content, as well as writing copy for staff e-newsletters.’

Glasgow Credit Union is the first credit union in the UK to offer a bespoke Credit Union Apprentice Scheme, where the trainees will gain a recognised financial services qualification as well as hands-on experience of working within the credit union industry.

Max commented, ‘I think the most important quality for an apprentice is a good work ethic – showing that you want to put in the effort to learn your role in the business.’ Lewis added: ‘If you’ve got a passion for learning, and like the hands-on approach to work, then an apprenticeship is a great way to better understand a working environment.’