I was interested to read an article regarding an NVQ set-up in Sunderland, UK, which was created for the burgeoning call centre industry within that area. I believe they created a "mock call centre" to run the course and this was supported by local companies and the council as it was felt this would help the industry and the people looking to work within it.

Given the move towards contact centres rather than the old fashioned call centre this got me thinking. Would this not be an idea worth all local areas taking-up who have an interest in the industry? Would it not prove a more effective means of recruiting skilled staff than the recruitment agency route? Why has nobody thought to combine the two - a sepcialised training course and recruitment agency in one? Could be tailored to specialise in any number of areas people can work in within a contact centre? and has anyone got any experience of similar schemes? if so please feel free to post away.

It's a great idea, you're right there. I've never been the world's biggest fan of recruitment agencies - and by the look of this thread neither are a lot of our members :-)

It's a radical idea, but seeing as call centres are relatively expensive to setup, do you think it will catch on?

It certainly would help develop a viable alternative to the recruitment agencies' approaches.

John

Hi John,

Interesting topic. Training we all believe is essential and we know one thing for sure- there is no skill which can not be acquired by training. Let me quote Derek Bok here:
"IF YOU THINK EDUCATION IS EXPENSIVE TRY IGNORANCE"

This is very true of call centre and contact centre industry. If we put all skill sets required by a call centre/ contact centre agent and look at an individual possessing all these skill sets then he is automatically a winner. He will not be a call centre agent for long. Are we then saying something which is unbelievable. True- it is nice to have all people communicating clearly and effectively but the reality is that only a microscopic percentage possess these skills.

Mock call centres according to me is an excellent idea but the problem is that -who bells the cat? who takes initiative?

For the benefit of millions of people who think otherwise about vocational training, let me share my experience. We ran a course for call centre agents for 5 weeks of class room training including all possible skill sets and found out that only when call centre situations were simulated for three days after the classroom sessions, the real learning took place. Again quoting the wise- "EXPERIENCE MAKES MAN/WOMAN PERFECT" (changed to satisfy probable women libbers in this forum)

Simulation is the best way to learn and currently, we focus heavily on simulated interactions to make the trainees learn.

Vedula

I read with interest the article asking why has nobody thought of setting up a mock call centre. So far our company has trained over 2000 staff in contact centres in the Highlands of Scotland where there are a growing number of contact centres and recently setup setup a two to six week course specifically for my clients.

The PDA course is a recognised and certificated course by the SQA and has proven to be very successful, with 80% of candidates getting work within those contact centres. The course itself is paid for both by clients and local employment agencies.

If you would like some more info I would be happy to help