Closing the gap between classroom and boardroom
If you were to draw a timeline of your career, would you be able to identify the key moments that helped you progress or climb the corporate ladder? How did you get your first interview in a country where each position is met with hundreds of applications?
How did you secure your first promotion?
Did you get access to on-the-job training and mentoring that opened up new opportunities for you?
As an organisation aimed at attracting some of the brightest talent in the very competitive banking, financial services and technology fields, we think a lot about these questions. Not only do we want to know how to identify this talent, we need to put in place systems that allow us to nurture people from different backgrounds across various parts of their career lifecycle.
Studies show that graduates who have experienced internships or structured development programmes are more likely to adapt seamlessly to corporate roles. According to a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, more than 60% of interns are converted into full-time employees by the companies they interned with, showcasing the effectiveness of such programmes in preparing talent for the workforce.
The question that many organisations are grappling with is how they structure programmes that will meet their human capital requirements in an ever-evolving employment and talent landscape. We believe that there are a couple of key focus areas.
The first is recognising that we have a skills shortage and we perpetuate the cycle by poaching high-potential young talent from other organisations. Rather, there needs to be a systematic investment in skills which will boost the overall ecosystem. When designing our graduate programme, we structured it as an 18month programme that will allow participating talent the opportunity to experience different parts of the business. We believe that this is an enhancement on traditional 12-month work experiences.
This also gives participating candidates the opportunity to see various parts of the business and where their skills can be aligned, while at the same time ensuring that the Global Markets business units find the right skills and personality fit for each of the candidates.
Second, we need to recognise the role that social capital plays in the employment journey. As businesses have broadened their recruitment pools through skills drives, talented young people are being recruited from a multitude of socioeconomic backgrounds.
Graduates from diverse backgrounds may face challenges in adapting to the organisational culture and social dynamics within the banking sector. Differences in language proficiency or familiarity with social norms can create obstacles to effective communication and collaboration, impacting their integration and sense of belonging within the organisation. This can be particularly challenging for those who may not have access to the same resources and support as their peers, such as reliable transportation or a professional wardrobe.
To mitigate these social capital challenges, we believe that new graduates should be supported through both a “buddy” system as well as a more formal mentor.
The buddy system means that you have somebody from a similar tertiary education field and socioeconomic background who you can engage with and just ask the simple questions you might not feel comfortable asking a more senior person or line manager.
A mentor is somebody who is going to provide a more direct mentorship role and will help champion their mentee through the process of integrating into the workplace and navigating career decisions.
Lastly, we need to rethink the culture of graduate programmes. Historically in banking, graduate programmes and internships were famed for being all about how long and hard you could make talented young people work and who would be “tough enough” to make the cut.
Mental health statistics in South Africa paint a worrying story and this has been exacerbated by the pandemic, social unrest, and pressure to secure a job and provide for families in a country where unemployment is at unsustainable levels.
The South African banking sector is recognised as being able to compete with counterparts across the globe. It is able to do this through ongoing investment in talent and we remain committed to being an employer of choice in 2024.