The Association of British Credit Unions Limited (Abcul) has launched a number of new initiatives to encourage young members of the sector.
These include the North West Youth Forum, set up to develop young leaders, bring forward new ideas and improve engagement with a wider group of people within credit unions.
And Abcul will launch its national Young Professionals Network at its annual conference in Manchester on 8-9 March. This aims to provide a robust and dynamic environment for young credit union professionals to connect, learn and live out co-operative values to enable them to develop into credit union leaders, and retain their talent within the British movement”.
There will be a dedicated session on the network at the conference on Friday 8 March.
Debbie Smith-Hands, from Pennine Community Credit Union and The North West Youth Forum, said: “This is something that the Youth Forum are all very passionate about. The network will bring training and development opportunities for young people working in the sector and a platform for our future credit union leaders to connect with like-minded people.
“These networks are vital in order to retain young talent in our sector and I would urge all credit unions with staff members that fit the criteria to encourage them to get involved.”
Abcul’s head of member services, Rosanna Donovan, attended the North West Forum’s recent Well Organised Weekend (WOW) event where the Youth Forum was officially launched. “What makes events like this so special is to see credit unions of all sizes share experiences and ideas to help each other become stronger together,” she said.
“I am particularly excited to see the positive developments in engaging younger staff through the forums and am delighted a number of them will be joining us in Manchester in March.”
