TWO Bradford companies are celebrating successful training landmarks.

Intermediary lender Accord Mortgages has completed a development programme to transform its underwriting service, while Shipley-based Czajka Care Group is marking supporting 50 student nurses.

Accord Mortgages, part of the Yorkshire Building Society Group, began to fully train and mentor case managers to become underwriters in September and has trained 60 staff at its Bradford head office. The lender has also trained 36 new staff as underwriters and has a 90-strong team in Bradford and Peterborough.

The training has enabled staff to be accountable for assessing mortgage applications and make common-sense lending decisions. It has increased loan offer turnaround times by 28 per cent and boosted broker satisfaction.

Charles Canning, Accord managing director, said: “We are pleased to have been able to give our mortgage processing team this opportunity as it has provided them with a chance to develop their careers as well as a salary increase to reflect their new role and responsibilities. We expect all our underwriters will be fully mandated by the end of the summer.

“We have an ongoing scheme to provide underwriters with further development and mentoring throughout their career.

“We are always looking for ways to improve our service. We’ve listened to brokers and reviewed how we can best support them.”

Czajka Care Group has celebrated helping educate more than 50 student nurses during a nine year partnership with the University of Bradford School of Nursing.

It offers student nurses work placements in its care homes to develop their nursing knowledge and skills, supported by registered nurse mentors.

Sue Cutts from Czajka said: “Our nursing homes in the Keighley, Skipton and Nab Wood areas are all part of the education programme, working in partnership with the school of nursing. to help improve nursing standards across the board. “