AmeriCorp

AmeriCorp Customer Service Personnel Earn Certification – Step One
SYOSSET , NY- December 19, 2003

In November, after weeks of intense preparation, twenty handpicked personnel from AmeriCorp’s customer service groups reported to a nearby community college. There they sat down to a certification exam designed by the National Institute for Financial Counseling Education. This examination is a lengthy and comprehensive test of the individual’s communication and problem solving skills relative to effective client/counselor relationships. Those who pass are awarded the designation of National Certified Credit Counselor, which is fast becoming a prerequisite to satisfy major creditors and not a few of the state legislatures.

AmeriCorp’s commitment to developing this special corps of certified counselors stems from the company’s conviction that clients placed into its care by debt management organizations are best served if qualified counseling also exists at the customer service level. Recent statements by government investigators and inquiries from probing creditors reveal a rising uneasiness with counseling firms that hand off clients to third-party processors who may have no expertise in the counseling field. In our case, however, there will be no diminishment in the quality of counseling because all twenty of the employees passed the examination by wide margins. AmeriCorp’s management congratulates these talented individuals who have combined newly gained knowledge with years of experience in earning this prestigious recognition.

The successful examination of this score of individuals is just an early building block in AmeriCorp’s latest plan for professional development. Our gifted and versatile Training and Development staff will shortly add a certification-training course to its own curriculum. The course of study is intended to instill the proven skills of our starter group into the entire customer service population. We anticipate a prep course so comprehensive and dynamic that all its participants will go on to earn their certificate at testing time. Because the certification is a renewable rating, the special training will remain permanently in place for both new employees and for those who wish to refresh prior to retesting. In such ways, AmeriCorp will sustain the good efforts of debt management organizations and those individuals whom they have encouraged to become debt-free.


Close window	AmeriCorp Customer Service Personnel Earn Certification – Step One SYOSSET , NY- December 19, 2003 In November, after weeks of intense preparation, twenty handpicked personnel from AmeriCorp’s customer service groups reported to a nearby community college. There they sat down to a certification exam designed by the National Institute for Financial Counseling Education. This examination is a lengthy and comprehensive test of the individual’s communication and problem solving skills relative to effective client/counselor relationships. Those who pass are awarded the designation of National Certified Credit Counselor, which is fast becoming a prerequisite to satisfy major creditors and not a few of the state legislatures. AmeriCorp’s commitment to developing this special corps of certified counselors stems from the company’s conviction that clients placed into its care by debt management organizations are best served if qualified counseling also exists at the customer service level. Recent statements by government investigators and inquiries from probing creditors reveal a rising uneasiness with counseling firms that hand off clients to third-party processors who may have no expertise in the counseling field. In our case, however, there will be no diminishment in the quality of counseling because all twenty of the employees passed the examination by wide margins. AmeriCorp’s management congratulates these talented individuals who have combined newly gained knowledge with years of experience in earning this prestigious recognition. The successful examination of this score of individuals is just an early building block in AmeriCorp’s latest plan for professional development. Our gifted and versatile Training and Development staff will shortly add a certification-training course to its own curriculum. The course of study is intended to instill the proven skills of our starter group into the entire customer service population. We anticipate a prep course so comprehensive and dynamic that all its participants will go on to earn their certificate at testing time. Because the certification is a renewable rating, the special training will remain permanently in place for both new employees and for those who wish to refresh prior to retesting. In such ways, AmeriCorp will sustain the good efforts of debt management organizations and those individuals whom they have encouraged to become debt-free.