New home loan specialists are serving customers in the Leominster, Barre, and Millbury areas, using skills gained from innovative new program designed to help solve shortage of mortgage pros.

Left, Peter Favata, Fidelity Bank vice president, and far right , Brian Cormier, Fidelity Bank, vice president with graduates of Fidelity Bank’s Life Design Institute of Mortgage Lending, Renee Letendre, Courtney Gatta, and Ashley Rose Nicastro.

The first three graduates of Fidelity Bank’s Life Design Institute of Mortgage Lending are on the job, helping area residents buy the homes of their dreams.

The new home loan specialists, who have diverse backgrounds, have found their calling helping clients obtain financing. Courtney Gatta of Sturbridge was a marketing manager at a financial services firm. Ashley Rose Nicastro of Fitchburg was a jewelry-store manager. Renee Letendre was a mortgage rep at another bank. A shortage of home loan specialists inspired the bank to create this unique new program.

“The average age of a mortgage representative is about 54 years old, and more are retiring than entering the industry,” says Brian Cormier, vice president and sales manager with Fidelity Bank. “There’s a shortage of talented people to take their place, and very few banks have formal training programs.”

Cormier and Peter Favata, also vice president and sales manager, were charged with creating the program. Their mission: develop best-in-class home loan specialists to serve the needs of the bank’s customers.

First came recruiting applicants.Gatta wanted to become home loan specialist because all the bankers she knew loved their jobs.She began looking for a training program but had no luck until she found Fidelity Bank’s new program online.

Nicastro was searching for a new career when she saw the bank’s offer of an exciting new opportunity, so she took the plunge.

Using tools such as personality analysis to ensure the candidates had the right traits for success, the bank whittled down the field from 40 applicants.

Next came designing the training. Cormier and Favata worked with the leading vendor of training for mortgage professionals to design an all-inclusive three-tiered program.

During “ground school,” students received essential mortgage knowledge through in-depth lessons, quizzes and tests. Topics included mortgage math and terminology, traditional and niche loan products, pre-qualifying borrowers, secondary financing, government guidelines, loan applications, fraud detection, and compliance.

“The training was really well grounded,” says Gatta, who’s now a home loan specialist serving the Millbury, Worcester, and Paxton offices.“My head was packed with information. Peter and Brian are awesome.”

During the second phase, “flight school,” students acquired mortgage-sales and business-development skills. It included lessons, assignments, and case studies that let them apply their knowledge to real-world situations.

The third phase, “officer school,” gave them a foundation to help them succeed on the job from day one. Lessons included setting business goals, maximizing networking events, mastering a database, identifying and developing referral partners, effective database marketing practices, building a strategic plan, effective appointment setting, sales skills, business disciplines, overcoming call reluctance, and holding impactful customer meetings.

“It’s been an exciting opportunity to go from retail to banking,” says Nicastro, who is in the bank’s Leominster office on Main Street.“The Life Design Institute of Mortgage Lending gave me everything I need to change careers successfully. I’m helping customers get through an important time of their life and achieve their dreams of homeownership.”

Says Gatta, “I get to talk to clients and help people. How much better can you can get than that?”

Letendre says she’s off to a great start helping clients in the Barre, Gardner and Princeton offices obtain loans.

LifeDesign is Fidelity Bank’s unique way of doing business and promise to be caring, trusted friends and help clients, employees and community members achieve their goals.

Founded in 1888, Fidelity Bank is one of the oldest independent community banks in central Massachusetts. Fidelity Bank’s exclusive LifeDesign approach offers a range of banking, investment and insurance solutions to clients in 10 full-service offices in Leominster (2), Worcester, Fitchburg, Gardner, Shirley, Barre, Millbury, Paxton, and Princeton. As of June 30, 2017, the bank had total assets over $800 million. For more information, visit www.fidelitybankonline.com or www.facebook.com/fidelitybankma.