Calling all banking ‘geeks’
BARCLAYS Africa and Absa are looking for young techsavvy graduates to join their annual Rising Eagles graduate programme, which is aimed at graduates who are passionate about technology and will use it to engineer the future of banking.
Group head of leadership, learning and resourcing for Barclays Africa, Jason Davies, said the programme was for top talent on the continent.
“Its an integrated approach to training and development that combines classroom training, group activities, assignments and e-learning.”
Davies said banking specialists would be giving talks on subjects of key relevance to the profession. This learning experience was being offered to graduates across Africa – in South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Seychelles, Tanzania and Uganda.
“It’s really about taking our opportunity as a big organisation to create a space for graduates to bring all of their new ideas and thinking in a place where their ideas can happen.
“A lot of these graduates have great ideas once leaving university but they haven’t got the platform to make it work,” said Davies.
“We have designed a 12-month programme in partnership with Duke corporate education,” he said.
“The future of banking is exciting,” said Davies.
Rising Eagle alumnus Yachna Bharath, 25, joined the graduate programme in 2015 and currently holds a position within BAGL: Big Data, Analytics, Product & Platforms at Absa. Bharath said the programme accelerated her understanding of the industry and introduced her to new cultures from other countries.
“It showed me that there are many ways to approach and to solve a problem. Personally I was positioned in the Big Data team, and this was a phenomenal learning experience, especially since we are in a time where data is one of the world’s biggest assets,” said Bharath.
“I look back now and it’s overwhelming how far I have come in my career. The financial industry is a highly competitive environment that has been a major contributing factor to change the approach to delivering value to customers,” said the determined 25-yearold.
“The shift to utilising new technology and tech-savvy data scientists and graduates, in collaboration with the knowledge that the bank already holds, enables quick-to-market solutions and/or products based on market demands,” she said.
“I want graduates to know that not everything comes easily and that hard work definitely pays off. One needs to keep dreaming and have ambition to achieve one’s goals…”
“If you want to be in a company that listens to your ideas, that collaborates and grows you both as a person but also gives you opportunities to ensure your career is successful, then Absa is definitely for you,” said Bharath.
One of the tech graduates from the 2017 intake, Chris Chuch, said he works in one of the teams that enables the bank to move its technology into the cloud, saving the bank millions in infrastructure expenditure.
The recruitment process for the 2018 Rising Eagles programme is now open and runs until June 18. To see if you qualify for the technological programme, apply online at http://www.risingeagles. mobi/ @Zwane_2li2ls