CSA to host People Development Conference for 2021 National Apprenticeship Week

The Credit Services Association (CSA), the voice of the UK debt collection and debt purchase sectors, is hosting its second Learning and Development Conference as a virtual event on 9 February 2021, with the aim of championing people development in financial services, as well as government and the wider public sector.

The conference will bring together learning and development managers, HR professionals, industry leaders, and in-house collection teams, as well as current CSA apprentices and their employers.

The CSA Learning & Development Conference aims to give people an opportunity to share knowledge and insight on industry-related qualifications, as well as specific developments and changes to apprenticeships. It coincides with National Apprenticeship week 2021.

The keynote speaker for the conference will be entrepreneur and motivational speaker Brad Burton – who founded the international business networking group 4Networking and is the author of four business books. He also fronted the CSA's #heretohelp campaign. Following Brad, we have Toby Perkins, Shadow Apprenticeships Minister who will be giving an update and Apprenticeships and Skills Policy.

Fiona Macaskill, Director of Learning and Development at the CSA, believes that now, more than ever, the debt collection sector must focus on professional development: “Despite increased automation accelerated by Covid-19, we believe the future of debt collection should have people at its heart. Championing people development not only benefits the individual, but also adds value to the workforce and business.

“From apprenticeships and professional development, to leadership and culture, and mental health and wellbeing,” she adds, “the conference will provide current and future industry leaders with the tools to maximise not only their employees’ skills and careers but also their own.”

Part of the conference will reflect the theme of National Apprenticeship Week to ‘Build the Future’: “To thrive in 2021, we must attract, retain, and continuously upskill the best talent by embedding a lifelong learning culture,” Fiona continues, “and this culture must be built on maintaining the highest industry standards. Our specialist apprenticeships cover a range of sectors, from insurance to housing and are providing a credible route into financial services.”

The conference programme will offer a host of expert speakers from a number of disciplines, and has been designed with two separate streams, one aimed at senior managers and business decision makers, and the other at learners, apprentices and junior staff.

The CSA is a Registered Approved Apprenticeship Training Provider, providing collections and compliance and risk apprenticeships to the wider financial services community as well as government and the public sector. Its Learning and Development team has also recently picked up a number of awards for its work in the sector including Excellence in Training at Credit Strategy’s Collections and Customer Services Awards, and a Skills Development Award at the Trade Association Forum’s Best Practice Awards 2019.

The CSA is currently delivering 200 apprenticeships across 75 organisations, including major industry players, well-known PLCs and government bodies, with the first successful learners completing their programme in Autumn 2019.

L&D Conference 2021

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