Swindon community bank’s first apprentice going full time

Acorn Community Bank’s first ever apprentice impressed staff so much during his training that he has been made a permanent member of staff.

George Woollands, 19, spent two years at the bank, which helps people on low incomes all over Wiltshire save and borrow to prevent them from resorting to payday lenders, as a Level 3 Business Administration apprentice with Cirencester College.

After starting with the member services department at its base in Cavendish Square, Swindon, organising memberships, loan applications, collection sheets, working with credit control, and answering phones and emails, he did so well he took on some of the bank’s marketing responsibilities.

“I think you know almost straight away if you are going to enjoy a job and pretty much immediately I felt that connection towards the work,” he said. 

“Even when I came for the interview I felt a sense of community and the passion of the people working there for helping others. The entire team here has been supportive of me all the way.”

As well as his membership duties he now helps run the bank’s social media, particularly its TikTok account. 

He said: “Running a social media account was something I’ve always wanted to do and I really enjoy creating posts, and I’m looking forward to doing more in the future.

“When I look at something I’ve done and see that we’ve got a lot of reaction I do feel a very strong sense of pride.”

Among the other tasks he has taken on are overseeing work placement students and organising Acorn’s Comic Relief day – which entailed a role he definitely hadn’t anticipated when joining a bank. 

“I ended up in a very hot dinosaur outfit, which I would not recommend to anybody,” he said.

With more than 10,000 members in Wiltshire, Swindon, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, Acorn provides affordable loans for people who are unable to get credit elsewhere.

Members open savings accounts and, provided they meet loan criteria, can take out loans which are repaid monthly.

Over the last six months it has made 1,153 loans worth £1,087,095.

George from Devizes, said the nature of the work, and the stories of the people Acorn helps, have opened his eyes to another side of life. 

“I suppose it has brought home to me that I come from a relatively privileged upbringing where I’ve never needed to worry about a lot of things,” he said.

“It really does sort of expand your horizon to the wider world when you get an email back that says, ‘thank you for all of your help today, that’s saved my weekend’ or something like that. 

"Being able to loan a few hundred pounds to people in tough situations doesn’t seem like a lot, but to our members it means everything.”

He was only told towards the end of his apprenticeship that his post would be made permanent. 

“I suppose I had been hoping for the best,” he said. “But it is a really good feeling to know I’ve got that security and I can actually use what I learned from my apprenticeship.”

Membership Development Manager Phoebe Fernandes said George had made a good impression with staff right from the start, and added: “George brought a real level of maturity to the role in the way he approaches work and what he does day to day.

“He has such a strong work ethic and is a very valued member of Acorn, I rely on him a lot.”

Chief Executive Clive Henly added: “As our first apprentice, George has been a real success because he has thrown himself into the work and shown that he is excellent in dealing with people, either face to face, on the phone or on email.

“He works well with our team and has shown his creative side through our social media. He is a real asset to the team.”

For more details about the bank’s services or to get in touch, people can visit acorncommunitybank.co.uk