Navigating Finances: Nationwide Building Society visit Valda Apprentices

On Tuesday 27 February, Valda Energy welcomed Liam Roads and Daniel Sollis from Nationwide Building Society to our Bicester Office, to talk about essential financial information with our apprentices.  

The event aimed to provide our apprentices with knowledge and resources to help them understand and tackle everyday personal finance including:  

• The difference between Banks and building societies.  
• Current account and savings account types.   
• Interest.  
• ISAs. 
• Debt. 
• Borrowing and finance types.  
• Mortgages. 
• Credit scores. 
• Budget planning.  
• Common scams. 

Did you know that criminals can mask their phone numbers to make it look as if you are getting a call from a trusted number?

So, if you ever feel in doubt, hang up and call your bank or card issuer on their advertised number to report the potential fraud. If you are interested in finding out how to prevent being scammed, check out Nationwide’s guide to avoiding scams.

Tom East, Valda Energy’s Learning and Development Manager commented: 

“I want to thank Liam, Daniel and the Nationwide Building Society for partnering with us on this very important topic. At the core of this event, we wanted to help our apprentices gain greater awareness of handling personal finances.  

“Unfortunately, personal finance and budgeting are not typically taught as part of the school curriculum, so we took the opportunity to help build this valuable knowledge. The session has provided our apprentices with great insight and tools to understand finance products, budget planning and how to protect themselves against potential scams.”   

Liam Roads, Branch Manager at Nationwide in Bicester said:  

"Thank you to Valda Energy for inviting us to deliver a financial talk to their team of apprentices. It was a great opportunity for us to engage with the local community and deliver a presentation to enhance their knowledge about financial products and services.” 

Daniel Sollis, Senior Branch Manager at Nationwide in Oxford said: 

“The employees were very engaged in the session, and it was a privilege to host." 

What is next for Valda apprenticeships?  

There are further plans to provide more life skill sessions for apprentices, including the important topics of health and nutrition and cyber security.