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The SME lender has doubled the number of scholarships available for its new business finance course, following “strong” demand.
Business lender Earlypay has announced that it will now fund 80 finance professionals to undertake its 11-week Business Finance and Lending Training and Development Scholarship Program, developed in collaboration with financial training provider Accendo Financial.
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While the lender had initially said it would provide 40 scholarships to finance professionals wishing to upskill into SME finance (in two 20-person sessions), this has been doubled to two cohorts of 40 “in response to strong interest”.
The intensive 11-week course, which will be delivered online three times per year so that participants can “continue their full-time role while undertaking the program”, is reportedly worth $6,500 per head.
The course consists of 13 modules designed to equip finance professionals with the knowledge to identify, structure, and implement “game-changing” finance solutions for Australian businesses.
Speaking of the expansion of its scholarship program, Earlypay’s national partnerships manager, Donelle Brooks, said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the response to our Earlypay Scholarship Program.
“The volume of interest demonstrates the level of need for the course across the country. You can’t give tax advice to a business without a qualification, so why should you be able to provide lending solutions to a business without the appropriate knowledge and qualifications? Our course finally addresses this.
“It is a game-changer for our industry. Not only does it provide critical hands-on practical training and learning with the mentor support of highly experienced industry experts, it also contributes to continuing professional development (CPD) with a number of key industry bodies.”
Ms Brooks noted that half of the course participants were women – which she particularly welcomed, highlighting that the finance sector has the highest gender pay gap of any sector (at 27.5 per cent), with women only holding 28.7 per cent of senior management roles.
She added that she hoped the course would help increase this number.
“The launch of Earlypay’s Training Scholarship Program demonstrates our deep commitment to the industry and our desire to see the business finance sector evolve to continually meet the fast changing needs of business,” she said.
“We will fund participation of industry professionals in the course every year at our cost. Members of our team will support the delivery of the course and provide ongoing support to participants during the course and once they complete it – as part of the Earlypay alumni.”
Completion of the entire course will equate to over 50 per cent of the annual CPD requirement for professionals, from key industry bodies including the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) and the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).
Additional associations are expected to participate.
[Related: Earlypay launches scholarship program for brokers]
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