Pub. 5 2015-2016 Issue 6

6 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S A Word From CBA... Not your Father’s Apprentice– The Swiss approach to talent retention and succession planning M any banks today are facing new challenges for tomorrow: personnel and succession plan- ning. Some don’t know who will operate or lead their bank into the future, as competition for qualified bankers becomes fiercer. As pressures on the industry and its workforce increase, banks are looking for new ways to acquire and retain talent. Therefore, some in the industry have established leadership development pro- grams – or are participating in existing ones external to their banks – to recruit a new host of industry leaders. Banks and their brethren are not alone in facing this challenge and employers across the country are seeking new and innovative ways to attract and keep quality workers. Earlier this year, Colorado Gov- ernor John Hickenlooper led a delegation of more than 30 business, education, nonprofit and government leaders to Switzerland to study the Swiss Vocational Education and Training (VET) system, on a trip spearheaded by the Business Experiential Learning Commission (BEL Commission), appointed in late 2015 by Governor Hickenlooper. The BEL Commission has developed Business and Schools in Collaboration (BASIC) to serve as the backbone orga- nization to facilitate the development, and implementation of a business driven workforce development system in Colora- do – 501(c)(3) status is pending. The Swiss VET system – widely considered to be the gold standard in experiential, career-focused education – represents the potential for the future of workforce development and education in Colorado, including banking. It is de- signed to prevent dead-end pathways and the model is used heavily by the Swiss banking industry. In fact, more than 70 percent of the personnel employed by the Swiss banking industry come out of this apprenticeship system. I traveled to represent the financial services industry, and to learnmore about how this system could be implemented in Colorado. Other business representatives included trade associations in industries successful in apprenticeships in Switzer- land, and tentatively targeted for priority in Colorado: advanced manufacturing, technology and banking. To the vast majority of Swiss youth participating in the program, it is highly regarded as a critical component of the Swiss economic engine. The system pre- pares a wide cross-section of students— including many high achievers—for an expansive range of occupations, including information technology, advanced man- ufacturing, healthcare and banking, as well as the traditional trades and crafts. The system also seamlessly connects young people with careers in white-collar Here’s how it works: u Learn on-the-job at an employer 3-4 days/week; students see benefit of what is taught in class. u Learn theory 1-2 days/week; curriculum by business, con- stantly monitored and fine- tuned. u Students learn in a system to equip them and their employ- ers to be competitive in the global economy of the future, where they learn theory in school and perfect their skills on-the-job. u Students are paid while they learn, typically the equiva- lent of about $600- $700 a month to begin, growing to $1,100- $1,200 by the third year, for three to four days of work a week. u And at the end of the appren- ticeship they have a nation- ally recognized exam-based qualification that is portable, and the opportunity to move directly into full-time em- ployment or to continue on into higher education