Programme overview
Protect organisational cashflow through risk assessment, ethical debt recovery, account reconciliation and client relationship management.
How it is delivered
Every apprentice is paired with a dedicated, industry-experienced tutor for 1:1 coaching scheduled around your workplace, with Off-The-Job training built into real projects and Functional Skills support where needed.
What you will learn
Every apprenticeship follows a national occupational standard. These are the knowledge, skills and behaviours the apprentice will build and be assessed on.
The role in one sentence
Monitor and manage customer accounts, follow financial policies to collect money owed to organisations.
Knowledge (5)
What the apprentice will know
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K1:
Credit management: Broad understanding of the principles of credit management and collections together with a sound understanding of organisational policies and techniques used in their role, e.g. credit terms; use of external sources of information, e.g. credit scores; and policies for handling vulnerable customers.
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K2:
Regulatory and compliance: Broad understanding of the legal, regulatory, risk and compliance framework within which they operate, with a sound understanding of relevant risk and compliance requirements for their role, e.g. credit management policies, data protection, treating customers fairly, potentially fraudulent transactions, including anti-money laundering arrangements and financial and sector regulatory requirements depending on the type of collections.
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K3:
Industry and organisation understanding: Understands professional standards; the nature and priorities of the organisation they work in; organisational ‘values’; and where their role fits in the organisation. Understands the different areas of the organisation that they need to work with, e.g. sales.
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K4:
Products and services: Broad understanding of the products and services offered to customers by their organisation, together with sound knowledge of the products and services that they support, and how their role supports the delivery of these products and services.
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K5:
Systems and processes: Understands the systems, tools and processes used in the role, together with the standards to be met, including IT tools.
Skills (7)
What the apprentice will be able to do
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S1:
Service delivery: Delivers excellent service to customers using the organisation’s systems and processes; contributes to individual and team objectives, in line with the employer’s policy; works in a way which reflects organisational values and complies with standards and regulatory requirements; carries out a range of tasks which may include credit application processing, cash allocation and reconciliation; proactive contact with customers to collect outstanding balances, debt; maintaining accurate records of communications, actions; straight-forward dispute resolution; and recommending write offs.
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S2:
Work planning: Organises their own accounts, completing tasks to required deadlines. Tracks individual customer accounts where necessary. Takes ownership through to completion, escalating when required, e.g. potential debt risk.
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S3:
Teamwork: Consistently supports colleagues and collaborates to achieve results. Builds and maintains good working relationships within teams and with other business areas where necessary. Aware of own role in the team and the impact on others.
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S4:
Communication and relationship building: Communicates effectively with customers and colleagues, using sound interpersonal skills, a range of media and appropriate language, e.g. phone, email, SMS, letter and face-to-face. Builds good relationships with customers, recognising their relationship with and their importance to the organisation while dealing with a potentially difficult topic. Adapts their style to that of the customer and actively listens to understand their needs. Handles difficult and sensitive situations professionally when they occur, e.g. regarding overdue accounts, working to support and retain a positive relationship with the customer.
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S5:
Negotiation and decision making: Works with customers to identify mutually acceptable solutions to credit issues, within organisational guidelines. Takes ownership through to resolution, escalating where necessary.
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S6:
Continuous improvement: Identifies opportunities to improve work practices and successfully implements changes that are required.
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S7:
Personal development: Seeks feedback and acts on it to improve their performance. Builds their own capability through ownership of their own development, working with their manager. Keeps up to date with relevant changes.
Behaviours (3)
How the apprentice will work
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B1:
Honesty & Integrity: Truthful, sincere and trustworthy in their actions. Shows integrity by doing the right thing. Maintains appropriate confidentiality at all times.
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B2:
Flexibility: Adapts positively to changing work priorities and patterns when new tasks need to be done or requirements change.
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B3:
Resilience: Displays energy and enthusiasm in the way they go about their role, dealing positively with setbacks when they occur. Stays positive under pressure.
Source: Skills England, Credit controller and collector (ST0176 v1.0). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Read the end-point assessment plan (PDF)
