Nicola Colclough

Nicola Colclough began her Advanced Apprenticeship in Mortgage Advice at Hanley Economic Building Society at the beginning of 2010. She is set to complete the apprenticeship in June 2011.

Nicola left school after completing her GCSEs in 2005 and prior to joining Hanley Economic in December 2007 she worked at Greens Health and Fitness. Nicola sees the benefits of the apprenticeship scheme as applying both to her own career development and to increasing her knowledge of the industry:

‘The knowledge gained during the scheme will provide a wider understanding of the financial services industry. Once I have passed the apprenticeship I will be qualified and competent to take on a role as a mortgage adviser which will benefit both my career by helping me to progress further and the Hanley by providing more flexibility and increasing my skill base.’

The advantages of a work-based programme are important to Nicola’s developing skills and development and enable her to support herself financially. She says, ‘It allows me to carry on with the job I do now and learn to become something I want to be in the future.’

Nicola not only sees the benefits of the apprenticeship to her own career but also to her employer: ‘I will eventually be able to give advice on mortgages so that will help the company when they need another qualified mortgage advisor.’