It was a very proud moment for Fasset (the Seta for Finance, Accounting, Management Consulting and Other Financial Services), the Debt Collecting industry, training providers, employers and learners when sixty-seven learners recently graduated from Fasset’s Pilot Debt Collectors Learnership.

“This is a first for Fasset. It is not only the first time that we are welcoming a lot of new debt collectors into the debt collecting profession, it is also the first time that Fasset has developed a learnership from scratch.

"Fasset’s other learnerships came from environments which had very formal training in the past. You are representatives of a new industry which has developed over the last couple of hundred years and is now being formalized and recognised as a profession that young people can follow,” Fasset CEO, Cheryl James explained.

James commended learners for having the backbone to see the learnership through. "It has been tough. It may have been the first time that many of you have studied since leaving school. You had the backbone to stick it out and you are going to bear the fruits of that today," James said.

Acknowledging that the debt collector’s job is very difficult, James urged learners to retain a sense of humor at all times: “You are dealing with difficult circumstances. You are often dealing with difficult clients and with people who do not want to talk to you. I encourage you not to lose your sense of humour and the sense of fun that we need to have to enable us to do our jobs properly.”

Keynote speaker and Chairperson of the Debt Collectors Council, Advocate Jasper Noeth SC congratulated Fasset “for this achievement”. “If Fasset had not taken the initiative, we would not be sitting here today,” Noeth explained.

The debt collectors' industry, through the Association of Debt Recovery Agents (ADRA), expressed the need for a Debt Recovery Learnership. Fasset commissioned research in 2003, which confirmed that this was indeed the case.

Fasset then facilitated the development of the NQF Level 4, FET Certificate in Debt Recovery. The qualification was registered with SAQA in December 2004. Having registered the qualification, a training provider was commissioned to develop the necessary training material.

Five employers participated in the Pilot Programme, which commenced in August 2007.

Noeth cautioned that an academic qualification alone did not suffice for career success. “You have to start at the bottom, and with the daily experience that you gain climb the ladder step by step until you have reached the top,” he reminded. Hammond O Credit Control employees, Muzi Biyena and Violet Matsimela enjoyed the learnership and believe they have benefited enormously from the process.

“A qualification is very important in South Africa. You need to get a qualification so that you can be employed. The learnership is relevant to the debt collecting industry.” Biyena said.

Reflecting on the modules that he had completed, Biyena identified the module on legalities as the module that he had enjoyed most.

Matsimela has been employed in the debt collection industry for the past three years. “I really enjoyed the learnership. I learnt a lot of things that I was not aware of,” she said.

Providing the employer’s perspective, Olivia Bowes from Munnik Basson & DaGama Inc (MBD) explained that the firm had signed eight learners onto the learnership.

“The learnership is addressing real skills needs within the sector. It is very relevant in our environment. You could actually see the impact it is having on performance. We will definitely sign more learners onto the learnership,” Bowes said.

MBD Group Training Manager, Charisse Zerf, explained that the firm employed a lot of school leavers. By offering the Debt Recovery Learnership, Zerf said MBD would be able to benchmark itself as an employer of choice.