Business Hub
Careers in banking: what is changing – and what still counts today
Careers in banking: what is changing – and what still counts today
For the bankers of the future, a commercial apprenticeship is a good starting point. This is apparent from a cross-generational discussion about the requirements in banking.
“I never had a career plan,” says Beat Röthlisberger, who is now at the helm of PostFinance. He laid the foundation for his professional career in the 1990s with a commercial apprenticeship.
Röthlisberger is not an isolated case: UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti and Julius Bär CEO Stefan Bollinger also started their careers as apprentices at a bank.
Then as now, commercial apprenticeships are a very popular way to start a career, with the banking sector among the top three training sectors. Around 8% of commercial apprentices complete their training at a bank.
They include Anna Feusi, one of around 3,000 commercial apprentices. What she particularly appreciates about the bank is "the diversity and customer contact".
Career advancement opportunities thanks to further training
In addition to their commercial apprenticeships, Feusi and Röthlisberger also have a formative experience in common. They both recall their first visit to the bank counter with their parents – and how fascinated they were at the time.
This sense of fascination is crucial. "If you remain enthusiastic and motivated, you can achieve virtually anything," Röthlisberger is convinced.
This is backed up by an industry survey: banks offer good career advancement opportunities – regardless of educational background. This is made possible not least by an extremely wide range of further training opportunities.
A current example: since 2026, the bank entry programme for high school graduates has been open to commercial clerks with a Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ) from other industries.
Diversity in banking – diversity in training
One thing is certain: those who start their career with a banking apprenticeship gain insight into many different worlds – and that is educational. Anna Feusi has worked in the customer hall and in the back office of the private and corporate customer business and says: "I learned something new wherever I worked."
This diversity also laid the foundation for Röthlisberger's career. "I am still benefitting from the insights I gained into a wide variety of processes," he says. After his apprenticeship, he studied business administration while continuing to work and then went on to gain experience in sales and risk management.
He advises today's commercial apprentices in the banking sector to follow a similar path to his: "Anyone who wants to go into management should gain leadership experience – in customer contact as well as in the mid and back office."
Corporate culture is changing
In addition to professional experience, social skills have become increasingly important in management. Urs Baumann, CEO of Zürcher Kantonalbank, is always present at important training milestones for apprentices like Anna Feusi – something that would have been unthinkable during Röthlisberger's apprenticeship.
"Today, employees have higher expectations of internal communication – which is legitimate and helpful," he says. Röthlisberger sees one reason for this in the higher level of educational attainment. In the last 20 years, the number of tertiary qualifications in Switzerland has doubled.
But employees themselves are also facing challenges: around 40% now have direct contact with customers – and this is precisely where social skills and empathy are crucial. Nowadays, accounts can be opened and investments made both online and at the bank counter – which means that interpersonal skills are becoming increasingly important.
Empathy is key
Communication makes all the difference today, even for managing directors. According to Röthlisberger, it was not only his technical expertise but also his soft skills that earned him his CEO position: "I believe it was a combination of my experience and the values I hold."
Consequently, values remain a key factor in banking: "Banks are not an end in themselves," says Röthlisberger, "they have a duty to their customers."
The two generations agree that the banker of the future needs one thing above all else – empathy.
