Using my acquired lifetime skills: Andrew’s story
It’s Volunteer’s Week 2026, time to thank our dedicated team of 60+ volunteers for all their support. In this series, we highlight a few of our volunteers….
Andrew transferred his acquired lifetime skills to help our community
Andrew joined CAEE after working 40 years in the financial sector for several major retail banks/building societies. He decided to retire but still wanted to use the knowledge and experience he had gained over the years to help and support people. He applied to join CAEE and started the next chapter in his life as a trainee debt advisor in October 2025.
After several weeks of e/learning and shadowing other advisors’ debt appointments, Andrew saw his first client just before Christmas last year. Whilst he had gained a lot of experience over the years dealing with unsecured debts such as credit cards, personal loans and mortgage arrears, it came as a shock to him when his first client was a victim of domestic abuse, had a two year old son and was experiencing serious financial hardship.
Andrew says, “I learned very quickly the importance of understanding the client’s full situation and the importance of not over promising and under delivering. The client shared her fears of not having an income and the possibility of losing her home and was clearly putting her trust in both CAEE and myself for help and support.”
He says, “Having had several appointments with the client, what has been so rewarding to see is how Citizens Advice can help the client to progress from a very stressful, difficult situation in their life to seeing light at the end of the tunnel and being able to keep a roof over their head.”
“I must say being a volunteer debt advisor is something I wish I had done some years ago.”
“Since the start of this year, I have continued to work with different clients all of whom have different situations going on in their lives ranging from rent arrears, unsecured debts and both physical and mental health issues.
“In my role, you learn not to be judgemental and certainly one cannot stereotype clients as we are all individuals in life. Our clients are reaching out to us for help and guidance to improve their lives where possible and get back on track and be empowered to face life with positivity.”