- 20 Metro Bank colleagues have joined the second cohort of the UK’s first master’s-level apprenticeship for senior banking professionals
- A fifth of Metro Bank colleagues who started the course last year have already been promoted internally
- Since launching the course a year ago, exclusively for Metro Bank colleagues in partnership with Cranfield School of Management, the degree has now been opened up to applicants from other banks
Metro Bank, known for its exceptional customer service, has welcomed a second cohort of colleagues onto its MSc programme in Retail and Digital Banking, which it set up with Cranfield School of Management in 2018.
Following a successful launch, the Bank has already seen 25 colleagues complete the first year of the two-year part time degree. A fifth of colleagues who signed up in 2018 have also since gone on to achieve promotions within the Bank.
The course is a fully funded master’s programme, and the UK’s first masters’-level apprenticeship for senior banking professionals, funded from the Apprenticeship Levy.
This year, for the second cohort, the opportunity to join the programme was opened up to colleagues at other banks, who will be learning alongside the 20 Metro Bank colleagues.
Danny Harmer, Chief People Officer at Metro Bank, says: “We’re really proud to be offering our MSc in Retail and Digital Banking again this year. At Metro Bank, we invest in our colleagues and support them in building and providing the very best banking experience for our customers – and that’s what this degree, offered in partnership with Cranfield University, is all about. Feedback from our year one colleagues has been overwhelming, with a number of them being part of the teams developing and improving our customer proposition and several also securing well-deserved internal promotions last year. It’s great to see other banks following our lead and getting involved this year.”
Professor Catarina Figueira at Cranfield School of Management added: “We are so pleased to welcome another 20 senior banking professionals from Metro Bank at Cranfield University. The MSc in Retail and Digital Banking has been a great opportunity to collaborate closely with Metro Bank, a collaboration of which we are very proud, and to contribute to the development of many of their staff.
“The fact that several participants from the first cohort have already achieved promotions attests to the significant impact that the programme is having in developing bankers and improving the practice of banking. This undoubtedly also highlights the importance that Metro Bank places in investing in its staff.
“Our second cohort started the programme a couple of months ago, with committed professionals from other banks also involved and many others expressing interest in joining future cohorts.”
Metro Bank prides itself on its unique culture and approach to recruitment which is focused on hiring for attitude and training for skill. The Bank gives colleagues the opportunity to learn from hundreds of courses as part of its Metro Bank University, which has nine sites across the country. This year it has established two new training facilities in Birmingham and Manchester.
Cranfield School of Management is ranked within the UK’s top 10 MSc in Finance and Management according to the Financial Times, and number one in the UK and seventh in the world for its MBA according to The Times Higher Education World University Rankings - Business School Report in 2018.