FIRSTSOURCE Solutions has launched a new global partnership to offer employees the opportunity to study for a degree.
The BSc (Hons) in Customer Contact Management is the first of its kind in the world in which a leading Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company has entered into an academic partnership.
It will be delivered through a combination of an online curriculum provided by Ulster University Business School, together with classroom and internal training structures deployed by Firstsource Solutions.
Up to 380 employees worldwide are likely to enrol for the degree in its first year.
Available to frontline management, including team leaders and mid-level managers, the course also reflects the growing complexity of managing customer relations across an increasingly diverse range of communication channels, from more traditional routes like telephone and email, to mobile apps, web chat and social media.
Firstsource Solutions employs over 1,900 people in Northern Ireland across three sites in Belfast and Londonderry.
Gavin Snell, head of customer management at Firstsource Solutions, believes this partnership recognises the quality of the firm’s training and its commitment to investment in employee competence.
He said: “Firstsource Solutions already provides gold standard training for our employees through its Firstsource Academy.
We’re delighted that the quality of our training has been endorsed by one of the UK’s leading business schools through this new degree partnership.
“The customer contact management industry is now a vital engine of jobs and skills in the UK, especially among young people.
It is therefore right that this sector gets the professional recognition it deserves.” Mr Snell added: “This partnership will give those employees who did not get the chance of higher education the opportunity to gain a degree, proving an attractive incentive for future employees of the company.”