Talent Academy

Focusing on personal development and talents.

The individual strengths of its employees are the most important asset of any enterprise. Using the diverse, specific skills of individual employees in a targeted manner and continuously enhancing them are key to the success of VP Bank.

Talent Academy – room for personal development

The Talent Academy is a programme offered by VP Bank as part of its Grow for the Future strategy that focuses on the personal development of employees. Following a talent identification process, up to 20 people are chosen each year to participate in the Talent Academy. Four criteria guide the selection: commitment to the VP Bank culture, ability to change, a growth mindset and readiness to take the next step in development.

VP Bank strives to ensure that the participants constitute a balanced mix of employees from the Group’s various locations and departments. All of them complete various modules over the course of a year. The modules focus on imparting methodological knowledge based on design thinking skills. In addition, participants are offered the opportunity to take part in a two-day hackathon, where they work on a real-world business challenge and develop ideas or solutions for it.

An alumni event is also held once a year, giving the current Talent Academy class the chance to mingle with participants from previous years. The aim of the event is to cultivate and expand personal networks within VP Bank.

The Talent Academy offers the opportunity to apply design thinking straight away.

Sonia Garcia Luis

Head of Group Brand Management & Client Experience

“The Talent Academy gives you the opportunity to put design thinking to direct use. For instance, I was able not only to become acquainted with the method but also to contribute ideas for a complex task in a very short period of time.”

It was impressive for me to witness how a team consisting of people from various departments and sites worked together to develop solutions at a hackathon.

Fabian Gstöhl

Consultant Business Development & Support

“For me, it was impressive to watch how a team with participants from various departments and locations worked together to develop solutions at a hackathon. I also had the opportunity to meet employees from other locations outside the usual work environment. Each participant contributed a different perspective to the process of finding a solution. Aspects were addressed that I personally would never have thought of. It was an exciting experience for me.”