Advanced apprenticeships ripen skills at the Bank of New York Mellon : Training promotes staff satisfaction and loyalty

Purpose – Describes how an advanced‐apprenticeship scheme developed by the Bank of New York Mellon and the National Skills Academy for Financial Services (NSAFS) is offering a fast track to career success and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – Explains the origins of the scheme, how it works and what some of the people who have followed the program think about it. Findings – Reveals that three‐quarters of the 110 BNY Mellon employees who have taken part in the scheme over the last four years have secured more senior roles in the securities‐services company. Claims also that the scheme has helped to create high staff satisfaction and loyalty, with nine out of ten people who have completed the program remaining with the company. Practical implications – Demonstrates that, by combining work‐based development, vocational learning and professional qualifications, the advanced‐apprenticeship scheme offers staff access to education while forging a career with the organization. Social implications – Shows how the scheme is helping to support the development of financial‐services expertise in Manchester, UK, which, once the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, has had to move away from old, heavy industries as these have increasingly gone abroad. Originality/value – Reveals how training has helped BNY Mellon to channel the energy of its young workforce into providing good client service.