11 new trainees have started five weeks of intensive training with Just Mortgages’ Broker Academy.

The training will see them go from raw recruits with no previous experience in the industry to fully-fledged Just Mortgages brokers.

The trainees come from across England and Wales and have a variety of different backgrounds and professional experience. They were chosen from more than 900 initial applicants through a rigorous selection process in the autumn.

They started at the firm’s training facility in Bedford at the start of the year and are due to graduate from the Academy on 7 February.

The first two weeks of the programme are devoted to ensuring the new recruits pass their CeMAP 1 exam. A blended learning approach is used, with traditional classroom instruction backed up by Just Mortgages’ own Learning Management System, which allows trainees to study in their own time and provides a more dynamic and interactive learning experience.

Just Mortgages has received accreditation to enable the trainees to sit the exams at the firm’s own training facility.

Once they have achieved CeMAP 1, the newly-qualified brokers spend then three more weeks onsite developing a range of skills that will enable them to succeed in the market, including an understanding of the sales process, how to build rapport with clients and effective questioning to understand clients’ needs.

The brokers also receive training in all the necessary technology, and advice on how to use social media effectively to drive new business.

Rodney Sloan (pictured), head of training for Just Mortgages, said: “The Broker Academy is a great way to bring new blood into the industry.

“It’s not about producing identikit brokers delivering scripted pitches. People buy people, not robots, so we want to encourage all our new brokers to let their personality shine through.

“The training programme is hard work but we’ve invested a lot of time and resource into making sure it’s fun too.”