NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ - Boldon, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom, 2007/08/28 - The UK’s fastest growing financial intermediary business Moneygate has launched a groundbreaking graduate training scheme in line with Government skills targets - Moneygate.co.uk.

The national financial advice network, based in Boldon in the North East, is putting graduates through a work-based training scheme straight from university or college to help build its UK network of customer focused IFAs.

The Government commissioned independent review of the UK's long-term skills needs, undertaken by Lord Sandy Leitch, set a target of four in ten of the workforce being educated to a degree-level qualification by 2020.

Moneygate is committed to growing its workforce in line with the targets by recruiting 20 graduates and training them to full financial planner status to cope with demand for its pioneering Active Mortgage Management service.

Under this scheme the company employs a team of dedicated advisers that operate real-time systems to constantly search for the best mortgage products for a single, low-cost fee – a service not currently offered elsewhere.

And the service has proved to be a winning formula as Moneygate is on track to deliver a turnover of £7 million in this financial year which has provided the platform for the current growth plans.

The firm is recruiting now for the first intake of graduates which it expects to employ in autumn. The staff will be trained in-house to become fully qualified financial planners with the potential to work within the South Tyneside-based headquarters or to relocate elsewhere in the country.

Dennis Reed, commercial director of Moneygate, said: “Growth has been swift since we launched the service last year and we need a stream of dedicated workers tailored to the level of service we expect to give our customers.

“The Government is committed to more people taking degrees and we are committed to employing more graduates who are after a long-term career in the financial sector.”

Moneygate operates its innovative active mortgage management plan by combining online enquiries with a face-to-face national network of advisors.

The firm already employs 30 staff at its headquarters at The Quadrus Centre in Boldon and recently unveiled plans to create a further 40 jobs in South Tyneside. Moneygate currently has a network of 60 advisors across the country – that figure is set to rise to 150 over the next 12 months.

In just ten months of trading Moneygate has acquired 23,500 customers online and is currently the UK’s fastest growing financial intermediary business having arranged has arranged £165 Million in lending to date.

For further press information contact Andy Barker at Results Network on 07855 352 303 or 0191 519 7268.

Editors Notes:

The Leitch Report into skills recommended that firms sign a voluntary pledge to train their staff to Level 2 - the equivalent of five GCSEs at grades A-C. If not enough employers sign up by 2010, then it should be made a legal requirement, the report added.

Leitch insisted the proportion of adults holding five good GCSEs or a vocational equivalent must rise from 69% in 2005 to more than 90% by 2020. He also called for 95% of adults to have functional literacy and numeracy skills for an additional two million people to gain A-levels 500,000 apprentices per year and four in 10 to have degree-level qualifications by 2020.
Lord Sandy Leitch outlined a bleak vision of the UK's economic future and insisted a higher-value economy was needed to compete with India and China.
He told the treasury at the launch of the report last December: "In the 19th Century, the UK had the natural resources, the labour force and the inspiration to lead the world into the Industrial Revolution. Today, we are witnessing a different type of revolution. For developed countries that cannot compete on natural resources and low labour costs, success demands a more service-led economy and high value-added industry.
"In the 21st Century, our natural resource is our people - and their potential is both untapped and vast. Skills are the key to unlocking that potential. The prize for our country will be enormous - higher productivity, the creation of wealth and social justice.
"Without increased skills, we would condemn ourselves to a lingering decline in competitiveness, diminishing economic growth and a bleaker future for all. The case for action is compelling and urgent. Becoming a world leader on skills will enable the UK to compete with the best in the world. I am optimistic."

Agency / Source: Results Network

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