A background in lending is not the major route to taking up a franchise opportunity with AustraliaÕs largest independently-owned mortgage broker according to Mortgage Choice’s latest Franchise Recruitment Index.

Senior corporate affairs manager for Mortgage Choice, Kristy Sheppard said the Franchise Recruitment Index found only 32 percent of new franchisees in 2009 had a lending background.

“There is no particular skill set needed to own a financial services franchise. Of all Mortgage Choice franchise owners starting up in 2009, 47 percent moved directly across from a role that was unrelated to banking or finance; 68 percent had experience with sales/customer service and 93 percent had an education level higher than the HSC.

“You can easily see from the data that Mortgage Choice is now placing a heavier emphasis on recruiting franchisees with sales and/or customer service experience. We value that kind of work experience as more important than a lending background,” Sheppard said.

“We are also on the lookout for people who have management experience or were previously business owners; 71 percent of our new franchisees for 2009 fell into this category.”