Durban - FNB says that this year, as part of its annual Graduate Programme, the bank will provide 250 youth with work experience in fields such as information technology (IT), commerce, data and analytics, and engineering.
In line with the country’s efforts to improve the employment prospects of young people, the bank said it continues to look at sustainable ways to assist youth and young talent in developing the necessary skills that will help them in the future.
FNB Human Capital executive Donald Khumalo said FNB has been running the programme for several years as it sees the need to invest in young people.
“We’ve been running the Graduate Programme for several years, and it continues to play a critical role in nurturing business leaders of the future and producing the skills that South Africa desperately needs. Our investment in young talent is consistent with our business ethos ‘How can we help you’, as we recognise that a lack of work experience is often a barrier for young people seeking employment opportunities. Our focus on critical skills further affirms FNB’s strategic ambition to build a platform business of the future,” Khumalo said.
The bank said the Graduate Programme supports, mentors, and affords young people opportunities to contribute through participation in real business projects, innovations, and engagements with experts around key initiatives, adding that it has trained and supported more than 1 000 graduates who are now senior leaders in some of its business units as CEOs.
The minimum requirement to get into FNB’s Graduate Programme is an undergraduate degree or an equivalent in any field.
Head of Young Talent at FNB Human Capital, Joanna Preston, said since the pandemic, the way they communicate, engage, attract, and select talent for the bank’s graduate recruitment has shifted online.
“Since 2020, graduates have had the opportunity to work on over 20 different solutions, such as customer education in branches, spend classification on the FNB App, structured trade and commodity financing, chatbots, and analytics. This also includes other app-related improvements,” said Preston.