The Certificate in Debt Resolution, or Cert.DR for short, is a professional qualification which was set up for people who work in the debt management industry and give advice, guidance or support to consumers who are in debt.

Comprising of 3 separate modules, the qualification is accredited by the examining body Edexcel. As members of the Debt Resolution Forum who aim to ensure that those studying for this qualification are recognised within the industry, ClearDebt has taken steps to enrol as many employees as possible into the training.

One of the recent qualifiers was David Howard, a Personal Insolvency Advisor here at ClearDebt. We asked him some questions about the course and his experiences:

1) What’s your role at ClearDebt?
I’m a Personal Insolvency Advisor, which means I help to supervise existing Individual Voluntary Arrangements at ClearDebt. I’m responsible for a client base of up to 300 cases, arranging and holding variation & termination meetings on behalf of the person in debt. I’m also responsible for reviewing income and expenditure forms, credit control for the client’s IVA account, liaising with courts, solicitors and other legal representatives. Another aspect of my role involves agreeing creditor claims into the arrangement and ensuring both creditors and clients maintain their obligations towards the Insolvency Act 1986 and IVA Protocol

2) What was required of you to pass the Cert DR?
To prepare for the examinations, I had to do approximately 10 hours a week of self study and I also attended training sessions to help prepare me for the final module of the CertDR.

3) How has studying for the Cert DR helped you do your job better?
This process has really helped me gain additional knowledge of the financial industry, in particular different types of financial solutions for people in debt, other than DMPs (Debt Management Plans) and IVA’s and how creditors initiate legal action once a person in debt has defaulted on their debt repayments. I now feel more confident that the my clients are using the right solution to manage their debt and I feel more confident in my ability to resolve any issues that could arise in the typical 5-year process of an IVA.

4) Do you have any plans for further study in the area of finance and debt management?
Yes, I now intend to study for the Certificate of Proficiency in Personal Insolvency (CPPI) qualification in June 2011.

5) Do you have any tips for people who are studying for this qualification?
Make sure you set time aside to self study at home. I have two children so I had to find time at weekends where I sat down on my own with the study guides and focused solely on study. I’d also advice that people attend any group training sessions available, such as the ones which were organised by ClearDebt.

If you have debt problems and need advice on IVAs and DMPs why not talk to ClearDebt and one of our qualified debt management advisors can help you tame your debt monster. Take ClearDebt’s online debt analyser or speak to one of the team freephone on 0800 019 2095.