CBA champions diverse training and skilling pathways into tech and banking
Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA) is passionate about diverse skilling and training pathways into tech and banking careers.
Brendan Hopper, Chief Information Officer for Technology at CBA sets the standard for this thinking.
“The old-fashioned education model where you graduate high school, do a degree, and then you're trained for life just doesn't work anymore. People must constantly refresh, relearn and reskill to stay relevant and to keep pushing,” Brendan says.
“More diverse teams make better decisions. We'll never be able to give people the operating procedures to handle every situation, so more diverse teams with different perspectives solve problems more creatively.”
GROWTH MINDSET
CBA’s Executive Manager Reskilling Kathryn Howard echoes Brendan, reiterating the importance of a growth mindset to enable the shift to more diverse training pathways.
“What got you here, won't get you there. We're at that point in time where globally people are recognising that the workforce and customer expectations are changing, and we need to adapt."
CBA is pioneering this shift, running over 15 programs across five critical skill areas to champion new skilling pathways. The goal is to share their experiences around skills-led initiatives to inspire other organisations to think differently about pathways in their own business.
One of CBA's many successful initiatives is its Career Transition Program — a paid program for professionals wanting to pivot in their career into Institutional Banking and Markets (IB&M).
The program is open to individuals with 2-6 years’ professional experience practicing Law, Finance, Accounting, Consulting, Engineering or Mathematics. Over 12 months, participants undergo two rotations in a business area aligned with their interests, transitioning into an ongoing Senior Associate position upon completion.
“The program leverages the participants’ existing skillsets. We can utilise prior experience whilst developing new skills, and encourage diversity of thought along the way,” Kathryn says.
SKILLS AND POTENTIAL
Brendan notes that he uses this skills-based approach when it comes to hiring talent too.
“We haven't hired based on what certifications people have for many years — we hire based on a combination of current skills and potential. If you can demonstrate your skills and learn, then there's an abundance of opportunities.
“We look for people who ask a lot of questions and immediately get curious and lean into the problem to understand it. We always bet on those people if we can.”
When it comes to upskilling staff internally, Brendan takes a practical approach which can continue to evolve with the modern workforce.
“It's 70 percent experience, 15 percent surrounding them with people who can already do it, and then the other 15 percent is formalised training,” he says.
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
Beyond internal training, CBA actively partners on various community initiatives, particularly in STEM and small business.
They partnered with Telstra, COSBOA and 89 Degrees East to develop the Cyber Wardens program, helping small businesses across Australia with access to a simple and free education tool designed to build a cyber-smart small business workforce.
“The program is having great traction and is supporting many small businesses in a way that they wouldn't otherwise have," says Kathryn.
When it comes to community programs, Brendan adds, “Where we can, we try not to create our own content. We try to give and invest in the community so everyone has access.
“We don't want to control the talent. We want to give people opportunity because by and large, if we create a lot more opportunities inside Australia, CBA will get some access to them. But more importantly, Australia will just do better,” he says.
DIVERSIFYING PATHWAYS INTO FINANCE, TECH AND BUSINESS
When it comes to elevating the nation’s understanding of training and skilling pathways into finance, tech and business, both Kathryn and Brendan have some top priorities for the Future Skills Organisation.
“Elevating and sharing the examples of non-traditional pathways that are successfully happening within businesses is so powerful,” says Kathryn.
“Common language is also important, particularly with vocational education and training (VET) pathways. We need to really simplify the pathways available to make it more accessible to a broader workforce.”
Brendan sees the most value in legitimising VET as a critical pathway.
“If you look at India, a diploma in IT is basically equivalent to a bachelor's degree. I'd love for Australia to be able to make that cultural transition,” says Brendan.
“The other thing that's important is the ‘earn while you learn’ concept. This gives people the opportunity to reskill or upskill without necessarily impacting the quality of their family life and earning potential."
“And then thirdly, this shift towards micro-credentials is key. It’s about your skills, not necessarily what certificate you have.”
Brendan recognises significant potential in embracing a mindset that values lifelong learning.
“My dream is 20 years from now, little kids want to get into tech and finance like they do for sport. We're improving but there's still work to be done.
“It's about how much inspiration you spark in people to go and learn on their own. If we can do that, we’ll be in a massively better place.”
