In a mission to enhance human resource development, Ecobank Kenya has begun a Graduate Trainee and Management programme. This will help them stay ahead of the curve of the dynamic banking sector.
The capacity development initiative which will be rolled out in the East African region will see Ecobank Kenya recruit over 50 graduates from Kenyan universities for a 12 month management training drill.
“Our strategic goal is to equip graduates with the requisite competencies required to excel in a highly competitive financial services sector and effectively balance between efficiency and stability,” said Ehouman Kassi, the Ecobank Kenya Managing Director.
According to Kassi, the success of any organization primarily hinged on recruiting, developing, managing the best human capital and formulating an incentive mechanism for retention and career progression.
“We prize youthful passionate and talented professionals with the skills, experience and mind-sets to operate across different markets and cultures within and beyond the African continent,” he added.
The bank has been on an expansion streak and has grown its branch network to 29, with Kassi hinting that the optimum operating capacity would be 40 to 50 branches countrywide. The programme is part of its new strategic plan to bolster its operations in Kenya and the East Africa Region.
The MD added that the bank is currently building its capacity in a rapidly changing era where banking services are greatly influenced by internet and mobile banking.
“These changes will continuously push banks into new horizons that bring forth both opportunities and threats that we need to mitigate. Traditionally, financial have had a multi-generational workforce with the older segment forming the majority of the workforce,” said Kassi.
He said there is a need to balance the demands of the experienced older workforce with that of the tech-savvy younger workforce using recognized management principles.