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Top of customer service class
Wednesday February 17th 2010. Posted: 12:34
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Andrew Shaw with his mum Patricia – who also works at the Warrington contact centre
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The first 100 people to complete BT’s new customer service apprenticeship scheme have graduated in Warrington this week.
Launched last year, the scheme aims to equip people with better skills to help the company achieve its goal of being number one for customer service. Warrington contact centre advisor Andrew Shaw - one of the graduates - said: “This apprenticeship has really helped me to hone my skills as a customer advisor. It has been quite challenging but also very rewarding. “I now feel more confident and better prepared to deal with the wide range of issues which I handle every day.” The aim is for around 10,000 apprentices to complete the programme by December this year. Impressed BT has worked closely with qualifications provider Edexcel and the Learning and Skills Council on the scheme, which combines classroom work, one-to-one mentoring and on-the-job training. The apprentices gain a BTEC in customer service, a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and key skills in literacy and numeracy certificates - which together make up the apprenticeship qualification. Ray Edwards, director of work-based learning at Edexcel, said: “We are impressed with BT’s commitment to the development of the customer service apprenticeship. We hope that more organisations will follow this format.” BT Retail programme director Jayne Coulson said: “People in our contact centres are very much the ‘face’ of BT for our customers - so it is vital for us and our customers that employees are qualified to carry out their roles. “Training our people in this way not only improves vital skills but also provides documented evidence of achievement. It might sound unusual to have an apprenticeship in customer service - however, in today’s service-driven economy, it’s as vital as in any other type of work.”
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Last updated:
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