Leading roles for 2 former Apprentices

Posted on Apr 23, 2021

Two former apprentices have been promoted to leadership roles following an internal restructure.

Jaspreet Kaur is the new Chief Operations Officer overseeing operations across the business and is now part of the senior management team. Hannah Copson is the new Customer Services Team Leader and is responsible for the team who look after more 11,500 members on a day to day basis. Meanwhile, Nicola Asbury, who joined Penny Post in 2019, has been promoted to Loans Team Leader and will oversee ongoing work to streamline the loan application process and improve loan decision-making.

Jas & Hannah joined Penny Post on formal apprenticeship schemes in February 2017. Upon completion, both joined the Penny Post Team in Customer Service roles, dealing with a range of tasks including telephone enquiries, joining new members, and processing deposits and withdrawals.

Penny Post is committed to developing and investing in its staff and encouraged Jas and Hannah to apply for CU Futures, a 12 month program, combining an industry standard qualification with personal development, on the job learning, and networking at a series of high-profile events. leaders.

Jas graduated from CU Futures in 2019, and keen to advance further, went on to complete the Credit Union Development Education program, and an Erasmus sponsored learning exchange with Romanian credit unions. Having not travelled abroad since she was 5, the week-long study symposium in Bucharest, with classroom sessions on governance and financial education and visits to 10 credit unions in the capital and elsewhere in Romania, was a great adventure for Jas!

Promoted to Customer Services Supervisor in October 2019, Jas was instrumental in leading her Team through the switch to home working and maintaining exceptional service to members during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In March 2020, Jas won the Tracy Slane Award beating competition from across the UK. The Award is presented each year to a young person who has made an outstanding contribution to their credit union and/or to the wider movement.

Hannah graduated from CU Futures in March 2020. As part of the programme the young professionals compete in a Team Project Challenge, culminating in a presentation to a professional panel including broadcaster, journalist and writer, Liz Barclay. Hannah was part of the winning team, developing a financial education programme for young people called ‘Start Young, Think £mart’.

Hannah says “being an apprentice has opened so many doors for me. My success on the CU Futures programme will give me an opportunity to visit other Credit Unions across the world – once the pandemic is over, of course! I feel my confidence has grown massively in both work and in my home life.”

Nicola Asbury said “I am thrilled to be given this opportunity to lead Penny Post’s fantastic Loans Team. Helping members is at the heart of what we do and I look forward to working with the team to enhance the quality of our services for all of our members. Exciting times ahead!”

Jas added “I’m looking forward to ‘growing’ with Penny Post. I want to be involved with developing new starters and apprentices in the team, and showing them that there is a world of opportunities out there if you’re willing to push yourself and put the extra time in. On a very personal note, Hannah and I have both thought about getting engaged, getting married, having children, and all these plans include working with Penny Post. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!”

Penny Post CEO, Matt Goulding said “We are incredibly proud of how all our apprentices have developed during their time with Penny Post and are delighted that Jas and Hannah have joined the management team. We are wholly committed to invest time and money in these young people, including mentoring, training and development opportunities which was demonstrated when we were awarded ‘Highly Commended’ at the Regional Apprenticeship Awards 2020. With Nicola also joining the management team, we have a talented and committed group who will drive the business forward, improve services to members and take Penny Post to the next level.”

Good luck Jas, Hannah and Nicola in your new roles.