Johnstown-based 1st Summit Bank recently launched a three-year paid apprenticeship for high school graduates, the first program of its kind in the United States.
ASCEND 250 provides apprentices with a direct, structured pathway into the banking profession. It will focus on addressing banks’ shrinking work force and aims to produce industry leaders.
“Launching this program was the easiest decision I’ve ever made,” Allison Johnson, 1st Summit Bank CEO, said. “We get the privilege of identifying sharp, hungry students whose ambitions may not match current opportunities available to them. We get to show them an entire industry in the classroom while working in our bank the remainder of the day, turning theory into earned knowledge. Finally, we get to help provide them a life, not only free of uncertainty, but a life that comes with a guarantee of a home and meaningful work in this community for years to come.”
Participants spend 18 months rotating through every major department of the bank to build a comprehensive understanding of how a financial institution actually works. Departments include strategy, marketing, operations, finance, human resources, and technology. Participants then spend another 18 months focused on their chosen disciplines. They complete required reading, coursework, written papers, and examinations.