Shortly after announcing "aggressive expansion plans" in May, a mortgage broker has reported 85 new broker and franchisee recruits have joined the brand over the last three months.
Aussie celebrated having achieved its goal of attracting talent from a broad range of both finance and non-finance backgrounds, as the group had previously expressed hope it might attract talent from various industries as COVID-19 provided many time to reflect and consider a professional change.
Brad Cramb, Aussie general manager of distribution, warmly welcomed those who opted to join the “buoyant” mortgage broking sector.
“We are delighted with the strong interest from skilled professionals wanting to pivot their professional journey and become a mortgage broker with Aussie,” he said.
“The challenges of COVID-19 have impacted several industries; during the lockdowns many recruits may have had time to reflect on their passion and might be drawn towards a growing and vibrant industry sector, including the strong Aussie brand.”
Notably, more than 60% of the recruits are under 40 years of age – coming in well below the industry average. However, just 25% are women.
While most of the recruits do have financial backgrounds, others previously acted as customer service professionals, small business owners, and other roles where they accumulated team leadership experience.
“Whilst the recent escalation in Victoria has seen us take a more measured approach there, nationally there is still strong interest and we are keen to discuss the opportunities with interested candidates,” Cramb added.
Aussie aims to recruit 200 new brokers and grow its chain of retail stores to 300 nationally by 2023. In May, the group shared it was willing to provide financial aid to each successful recruit over their first six months with the company in a bid to achieve such robust figures.
“The key ingredient we are looking for are people skills; as Aussie will support successful recruits with training, development, mentoring, and cash flow in their first six months with us, giving them a kick start to their new professional journey,” Cramb said.
Once the new additions have completed the training program, they are qualified for a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking and may opt to move on to obtaining a full Diploma in Mortgage Broking over the next 12-month period.
