THEY'RE responsible for dealing with over half-a-million pension plans in Scotland.

And now they are even better prepared for dealing with their clients following a series of upskilling courses.

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency at Tweedbank enrolled staff for the highly-regarded World Host qualification at Borders College.

And they all completed the customer services modules with flying colours.

Penelope Cooper, chief executive of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, told the Border Telegraph: "Investing in our people is a key priority for our organisation, ensuring staff have the right skills to deliver pension services to our 500,000 pension scheme members.

“I am delighted that we have been able to work with Borders College to deliver the customer service qualification World Host - the principles of customer service.

"This training forms part of our continual staff development to ensure we provide focused learning and development opportunities to benefit our customer service.

“Staff who completed this qualification should be extremely proud of their achievements.”

The courses were delivered through Borders College's business centre.

Susan Rennie, skills manager at the College, added: "SPPA is a very forward thinking organisation with a real commitment in the development of their staff.

"Delivering these courses is invaluable to strengthening working relationships in the development of their workforce.”