Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water
Debt Apprenticeship
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Job Requisition Number: 8930
Work Type: 18 month Apprenticeship
Job Function: Customer Services
Salary Range: £25,949
Base: South East Hub
Closing Date: Sunday 26th July 2026 at 23:59
Over 18 months, you will rotate through key Customer Revenue teams including Payment Services, Debt Team, Business Collections, and Litigation. This will give you a full view of the customer journey — from setting accounts up correctly and resolving payment queries, through to early arrears conversations, complex case management, and late-stage recovery activity.
You will work towards a recognised collections/customer service accreditation through structured learning, tutor support, and evidence gathered from your real work. You will learn negotiation, problem-solving, customer communication, vulnerability awareness, compliance, account management, and how to make fair decisions in complex customer situations to deliver a world-class service.
This is a permanent position, with the first 18 months dedicated to the apprenticeship programme. We are looking for people who want to learn, grow, and turbo-charge their career as a future collections specialist.
You do not need previous collections experience. We are looking for people who are customer-focused, curious, resilient, and able to communicate with empathy and clarity. You should be comfortable learning new systems, asking questions, receiving feedback, and handling conversations where customers may need reassurance, support, or negotiation.
You will earn while you learn, gain specialist skills, receive structured support, and build experience in a role that genuinely matters. Strong collections is about helping customers take control, keeping them out of debt where possible, and making sure every conversation is fair, respectful, and useful.
Please note if you are successful after reviewing your CV, we will be holding an assessment centre on Monday 3rd August 2026 that you must attend.
What you’ll be responsible for
As a Collections Specialist Apprentice, you will learn how to support customers with their water bills through the full collections journey, from early support and payment-plan conversations through to more specialist case handling. You will rotate through teams in the Customer Revenue department to build a broad, practical understanding of how Welsh Water prevents debt, supports customers in financial difficulty, resolves issues fairly, and protects the income needed to deliver essential services.
This Will Include:
- Speaking with customers in a professional, empathetic, and clear way, helping them understand their account, arrears position, and available payment/support options.
- Support customers to set up realistic and sustainable payment arrangements and encourage early engagement to help prevent arrears escalating.
- Learn and apply debt collection negotiation principles, including how to reach appropriate repayment solutions while treating customers fairly.
- Complete a placement focused on payment types, payment allocation, insolvency, Breathing Space, low-value plans, and how accurate administration supports good customer outcomes.
- Develop early-arrears skills through inbound and outbound customer contact, call handling, payment plan conversations, account review, and customer-focused collection activity.
- Build knowledge of commercial accounts, aged debt, customer account maintenance, and case progression within business collections.
- Understand late-stage arrears activity, legal and regulatory considerations, customer vulnerability, fair decision-making, and when escalation is appropriate.
- Resolve customer service problems by identifying the cause, considering customer circumstances, and working with colleagues to put things right.
- Learn how to recognise vulnerability, gather relevant information, and signpost customers to appropriate support, tariffs, or specialist teams where needed.
- Work in line with Welsh Water policies, regulatory requirements, data protection, quality standards, and agreed business procedures.
- Collect evidence from real work, tutor sessions, professional discussion, and workplace examples to support accreditation and role development.
- Work with buddies, mentors, team leaders, and accredited tutors; seek feedback, reflect on learning, and build confidence across each placement.
- Develop the productivity, quality, communication, and account-management skills required to progress into a permanent Revenue role.
- Undertake any other duties as required to meet the needs of the business.
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About You
The following Qualifications, Experience, Behaviours & Skills are required:
- GCSEs or equivalent including English and Maths, or willingness to work towards the required apprenticeship standard.
- Eligible and willing to complete the relevant apprenticeship/accreditation and take part in workplace assessment.
- Experience of speaking with customers, colleagues, or members of the public in a helpful and professional way.
- Enthusiastic about putting our customers first every day.
- A clear, calm, and empathetic communicator who can explain information in a way that customers understand.
- Interest in customer support, collections, affordability, and helping customers keep on top of their bills.
- Able to listen carefully, ask good questions, negotiate appropriately, and adapt your approach to the customer’s circumstances.
- Good attention to detail and commitment to accurate account notes, data quality, and following agreed processes.
- Open to feedback, reflective about personal development, and willing to learn through rotations, coaching, and tutor-led sessions.
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Benefits
As well as a market-competitive salary, 34 days annual leave (pro rata, including public holidays), we offer a range of employee benefits and rewards including:
- Variable pay schemes (your salary will always stay the same, but depending on the performance of the company, you could receive a yearly bonus).
- Enhanced employer pension contributions – Up to 11% employer contributions.
- Enhanced family-friendly policies.
- Progression opportunities, including the ability to apply for funded training and coaching and mentoring programmes.
- Reduction on gym memberships and high street shopping.
- Cycle to work scheme.
- Car-leasing scheme.
- Health CashBack scheme.
- An employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate family.
Whilst also working for a not-for-profit company that truly cares about earning the trust of customers every day, and about looking after our beautiful environment.
Who we are
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water keeps 3 million people healthy each day with safe, reliable water, and takes away wastewater to clean, before returning it safely to our beautiful rivers and seas.
To be able to deliver high-quality, essential services which help to protect the health of our customers, colleagues, and our environment, we need the right people to deliver on our vision. This is achieved by living our core values and demonstrating the core behaviours that underpin them. The security of our people, assets, and information is key to us, so we are looking for people who understand and comply with the company’s required security objectives.
We know that the most successful teams are the most diverse teams. Equality, diversity, and inclusion provide the very foundation to our culture at Welsh Water. We want every individual to feel confident, proud, and able to bring their whole selves to work.
To ensure an improved representation in our workforce, applications are particularly welcome from minority groups including Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic people, Females, LGBT+, Non-binary, and people with disabilities. Together we continue to build a workplace that not only celebrates the diverse voices of our colleagues but also represents each customer we serve.
In essence, ours is a company based on trust, openness, respect, commitment, and honesty. A company that our colleagues are proud to work for.
Dŵr Cymru Cyf, a limited company registered in Wales No. 2366777. Registered office: Linea, Fortran Road, St. Mellons, Cardiff CF3 0LT
© Dŵr Cymru Cyf 2019.
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