Entry Level Associate and Analyst Development
Challenges and Opportunities
By Charles A Sheffield
This White Paper is based upon the results of an Entry Level Training Forum sponsored by FinQuest Partners. The Forum was attended by a group of training professionals responsible for entry level learning and development at some of the leading banks around the world.
As a first step, the Forum considered the challenges from external factors. This discussion focused on the notion that training is part of a process that includes recruiting, training and retention of the new hires. As the next step, the Forum participants attempted to walk a mile in the shoes of the new hire and explore the training experience from the perspective of the participant. If training is a competitive tool in recruiting, then what are the expectations of the new hire with respect to training? What is their perception of their needs and priorities? Finally, we discussed internal challenges – how do you get new hires to the line with the necessary skills to perform, as quickly as possible and with a reasonable budget. These three conflicting goals require a delicate balancing act. How do we maximize the quality of the program while still maintaining a cost and time budget?
During the course of the Entry Level Training Forum, many of the challenges in entry level training were discussed including: a) retaining new hires; b)pressure to reduce the lengths of programs; c) growing class sizes; d) tighter training budgets; e) stale, outdated content; f) overly generic (and thus irrelevant) content; g) the need for customized programs; h)the need for proper assessments; i) instructor issues; and j) the integration of alternative approaches. The Forum reached some conclusions on best practices in dealing with these issues and approaches.
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