Earlypay has seen a record number of applicants join its Business Finance and Lending and Development Scholarship Program, prompting the ASX-listed company to increase its course participation numbers.
The Earlypay program, a first of its kind in Australia, involves an intensive 11-week business finance and lending course that is delivered online three times per year. From the initial 20 participants per course, Earlypay has raised the number to 80 (two cohorts of 40) in response to strong interest from finance professionals. The cost to Earlypay is $6,500.00 per head.
The Earlypay course, developed in collaboration with leading financial training provider Accendo Financial, and built using the ELMO Learning Management system, consists of 13 modules designed to equip finance professionals with the knowledge to identify, structure, and implement game-changing finance solutions for Australian businesses.
“It is a game-changer for our industry,” said Donelle Brooks, national partnerships manager at Earlypay. “Not only does it provide critical hands-on practical training and learning with the mentor support of highly experienced industry experts; it also contributes to continuing professional development (CPD) with a number of key industry bodies.”
Brooks said Earlypay was pleased to see half of its course participants were women.
“The finance sector has the highest gender pay gap of any sector,” she said. “It is currently sitting at 27.5%, with women only holding 28.7% of senior management roles. Hopefully our course helps to address some of this disparity as well.”
Brooks said Earlypay wants to support professionals to become the new breed of commercial finance specialists who understand all types of business finance solutions, including invoice finance which she said is one of the most untapped products in the market.
“It is an excellent course that meets the very unique finance and lending needs of the business sector,” she said. “It’s a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to position themselves as an industry-leading commercial broker.”
Ten of the 13 modules will be delivered by Earlypay and the rest by Accendo. Completion of the entire course will equate to over 50% of the annual CPD requirement for professionals.
“We will fund participation of industry professionals in the course every year at our cost,” Brooks said. “Members of our team will support the delivery of the course and provide ongoing support to participants during the course and once they complete it – as part of the Earlypay alumni.”
Earlypay has already filled 80 positions for the first two cohorts and has a significant number of applicants for Cohort 3 who will complete the first four modules in 2022, and then pick up in February 2023 with the remaining modules.
