Many employers in the UK make a lot of noise about training and development. They talk about investing in staff, and people being their most valued asset. Yet in many companies, the rhetoric is unsupported by action. Not so at Wescot Credit Services. One of the UK’s primary collection and recovery companies, Wescot has weathered more than forty years in a highly competitive industry.  It has achieved this in part because at Wescot, learning and development are taken very seriously indeed.

Wescot employs more than 650 people across three key sites in the UK. Each individual is given specific Wescot induction training in relation to their job role, but at Wescot the story does not end there. Throughout their career at Wescot every employee is given regular opportunities to discuss their performance with management, and identify areas for improvement. Wescot then provides training that is tailored to the needs of person, their job role, and the clients and customers they are engaging with.

Wescot places a high degree of focus on ensuring that its staff appreciates the needs and rights of the customers with whom they are dealing, and the principles of Treating Customers Fairly, or TCF, underpin every aspect of internal training that is provided at Wescot.

Wescot’s commitment to the continuing professional development of its staff is not limited to internal training programmes. Alongside these invaluable business-focused courses, employees are actively encouraged to engage in training outside of Wescot in general areas of study that are relevant to their role and the financial services industry, such as nationally recognised qualifications.  Wescot have a dedicated policy for granting time off for study and training in support of this.

Wescot promotes a culture of learning and training, and takes a long-term view in relation to staff development. Investing now provides employees with the necessary skills to develop their careers within Wescot, to the ultimate benefit of all concerned. It is the right of the majority of members of the Wescot team to submit requests for time off to study, and provided they can illustrate that the associated learning will enhance their effectiveness at work, such applications are generally viewed positively.

As a forward-thinking company, Wescot does not limit the training opportunities for its employees to their current job role. For those who show promise, and a willingness to progress their career within Wescot, the development of new skills through training is actively encouraged. With such a positive and proactive attitude to employee development, Wescot is sure to retain its position as one of the leading debt recovery agencies in the UK in the future.