Learning centre launched

To keep up with growing demand from candidates pursuing a career in the mortgage industry, Bondholder Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) has opened a new academy on Pride Park.

Not only key for MAB’s partner firms but also playing an integral part in bringing new blood into the wider mortgage sector, MAB's new training and development centre has seen significant growth in recent years with over 300 people coming through the academy to become fully qualified mortgage and protection advisers.

The new MAB learning and development centre, a two-floor facility, will now allow up to 20 learners to undertake their courses in a purpose-built training environment. The top floor for course delivery whilst the bottom floor will boast a recording studio to shoot all the e-learning packages and tools for learners to use prior to taking part in a course.

David Bedlow, Head of Learning & Development at Mortgage Advice Bureau, who manages the UK-wide team to deliver training programmes across its entire distribution, said: “We are extremely proud of the MAB learning & development academy, and the role it plays in helping new people to start a career in financial services.

“To have had over 300 advisers come through this programme is a testament to the hard work all the L&D team put in. Due to the popularity of courses, we’ve always held the academy offsite at purpose-built facilities which has impacted on its results in a positive way. This new facility will allow us to do similar with all of our other in-house programmes.”

In 2019, the MAB training academy won the coveted Princess Royal Training Award becoming one of only 44 UK companies across all industries and sectors to achieve it. The brands chosen – including the likes of IBM, the DVLA and Wilko – are selected by HRH Princess Anne herself honouring UK employers that have created lasting impact by successfully linking their skills development needs to business performance.

David added: “We’ve also recently won an award from Coursecheck – the company we use to monitor our course results. Coursecheck gather feedback from learners who have taken part in all forms of learning, whether that be induction, academy or field-based workshops.

“The award we received was given for the highest average course feedback scores from all 60 companies they collate feedback for. Again, this is down to all the hard work put in by the MAB L&D team.”