Yorkshire Building Society’s new Welsh Language course will enable colleagues to converse with Welsh-speaking customers either over the telephone or in branch. It has also introduced bilingual signage in its Welsh branches, Swansea, Cardiff and Tenby,

The signage includes contact details and opening hours – to help make Welsh-speaking customers feel even more welcome.

The initiative was inspired by members of the Society’s customer services team attending an ‘Embracing Welsh Language’ session at the end of 2024, organised by the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office.

One of those people was Colin Orr, regional manager responsible for the Society’s Welsh branches. He said: “This was a bit of a lightbulb moment for us and we came away determined to put something in place for our Welsh-speaking customers as quickly as possible.

“As a business, promoting inclusivity of all kinds is one of our core values. We understand how passionate many Welsh people are about their culture, and that their love of the language is growing and growing, and felt it was appropriate for us to better cater for that.

“Not only that, but it’s a beautiful language and we wanted to extend the opportunity to any colleague who wants to learn it and add an additional string to their bow.”

Laura Luke, a customer consultant working in the Society’s Tenby branch is one of the first colleagues to take part in the new course. She said: “I’m a Welsh speaker but have lost some fluency as not many people speak Welsh to each other now. I went to a Welsh primary school, continued with Welsh lessons in secondary school and was enrolled in the Welsh baccalaureate.

“We have some customers who do speak Welsh. They usually speak English to our branch team but do like to exchange a 'shwmae' (hello) and 'hwyl fawr' (goodbye) as they come and go, and I think they appreciate any phrases we’re able to share with them.

“What motivated me to take the new course was being able to keep up my existing knowledge of the Welsh language as it’s very much a ‘use it or lose it’ situation. The courses are great, very easy to follow and jogged my memory a bit! I am glad the Society is enabling others to try and learn Welsh, it’s a great step for Welsh inclusivity and bilingualism.”