Reskilling legacy talent within one of the UK’s largest retail banks
Challenge
Facing branch closures accelerated by digitalisation, one of the UK’s largest banking groups found themselves with two challenges: Many employees at risk of redundancy, and a pressing need to bridge technical skills gaps.
The external hiring approach threatened to be both financially and culturally costly, with recruitment expenses and severance payouts mounting. The bank wanted a strategic approach that would minimise costs and retain experienced staff with invaluable organisational knowledge and passion for the bank’s mission.
Solution
Having identified nearly 60 at-risk employees with the aptitude for successful reskilling, the bank collaborated with QA to implement an innovative reskilling programme. The programme used our ‘Learn, Master, Apply’ model to ensure comprehensive and impactful upskilling, delivering pathways in both Data Analysis and Software Engineering.
Each programme began with structured, instructor-led training that covered foundational concepts – everything from data visualisation and SQL for analysts to HTML, JavaScript, and CI/CD for aspiring engineers.
Participants then progressed into the ‘Master’ phase, working on structured projects that showcased their new skills.
Finally, we introduced Incubation Labs to bridge the gap between training and on-the-job application. Crucially, these labs offered a real-world simulation of the bank’s agile work environment, allowing participants to tackle challenges similar to those they would face in their new roles.
With a reduced trainer presence, participants learned to operate independently, overcoming the hurdles of imposter syndrome and contributing to team objectives with confidence.
Beyond the classroom, tailored learning paths on the QA Platform enabled continuous development, providing both beginner and advanced resources for participants to explore in an individualised way, providing both knowledge refreshers and stretch goals.
Result
These programmes saw every learner successfully redeployed into the workplace, in a matter of just 24 weeks.
Through learning how to collect, clean, and analyse data to uncover valuable insights, learners from the data programme went into their new roles equipped to improve decision making, enhance customers experience, find operational efficiencies, and manage risk effectively. Overall, putting the bank in strong stead to achieve its overall goals and purpose, with strategic use of data as a driving force.
As for the software engineering programme, the reskilled learners successfully refactored code used within the organisation. Essentially, this means restructuring code to improve it, without changing its functionality. The team delivered additional features, as well as ensuring alignment with evolving user requirements and industry standards.
Each programme exceeded expectations, with reskilled employees proving not only adept but also highly motivated and capable of taking on significant responsibilities. Line managers highlighted the quality of training and self-sufficiency of new team members.
In addition to cultural benefits, the programme generated substantial financial savings. By avoiding redundancies and external recruitment, the bank saved nearly £500,000 over the first two cohorts only, with further savings as training efforts scaled, and reduced recruitment costs by 50% compared to hiring externally.
With a proven model for effective, scalable reskilling, our client is now better positioned to meet future workforce challenges. Their commitment to developing employees paired with QA’s tailored, real-world approach has provided a replicable solution that not only preserves valuable institutional knowledge but also fuels ongoing transformation and growth.
Interested in how our tailored training programmes can rejuvenate your workforce? Check out our Managed Learning solutions.