‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo 1 Corporate Objectives MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY – A SOCIOLOGIST’S EXPERIENCE
‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo 2 INTRODUCTION • The 21st century labor market is fast-changing, increasingly global, and technology driven. The skills you need to succeed in the 21st century include: creativity, innovation, critical thinking, analytic problem-solving, communication, collaboration, multicultural and global understandings, and excellent written expression. Furthermore, 21st century careers take place in an increasingly diverse global society and being able to work effectively with people from different cultures, ethnicities and nationalities has become a basic work-place requirement. • The good news for sociology majors is that your studies are uniquely suited to help you develop the skills you need for a successful 21st century career. Sociologists study social life, social change, diverse communities and their interactions, and they use scientific methods to find empirical answers to complex social questions. Studying sociology can help foster your creativity, innovation, critical thinking, analytic problem solving and communication skills. As a graduate with a Sociology degree, you will have a foundation for better understanding and engaging with the globalizing world. You will be equipped with the tools needed to make sense of the shifting social world and contribute solutions to difficult social problems .
‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo 3 INTRODUCTION Cont’d The financial sector is not rocket science. There are a lot of terminologies, no doubt, and you have to master all the processes. But you don't have to be brilliant to work in finance; you have to be smart enough. And then you have to be willing to put in really, really long hours. And be competitive. It is an endurance game, in part. Finance directly affects everyone's interests, but many have a hard time coping with the pressure. But as the collapse of many big banks in the last ten years have shown, the financial world is too important to leave to the banking and finance majors alone.
‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo 4 HOW EMPLOYABLE IS A SOCIOLOGIST IN THE BANKING SECTOR Employers look at their applicants holistically, i.e. the degree is a basic requirement for a job in the banking sector as in most other sectors but you need to demonstrate that you have the skill-set required for the job. Banks welcome applications from Graduates of other disciplines for several reasons, and good impact can be drawn from such fresh Graduates after in-house and sometimes, external training & retraining. A sociologist’s ability to form and defend an argument, understand different personality traits regardless of personal opinions, would be helpful for a career in banking. Following a degree in Sociology, you will no doubt have gained the following skills: • Think and act creatively • Maintain a flexible mind • Read pages of text and pick out the essential points • Conduct research and evaluate sources with a healthy scepticism • Lead and participate in discussions • Develop opinions, propose ideas and theories • Maintain objectivity, particularly towards other people • Play devil’s advocate • Have confidence in your opinions • Base conclusions on statistical research .
‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo 5 HOW EMPLOYABLE IS A SOCIOLOGIST IN THE BANKING SECTOR Given the breadth, adaptability, and utility of studying Sociology, employment opportunities abound in the banking industry because at the end of the day, what singles you out is how you make the long hard journey from imagination to impact. Sociology has proven to be very much helpful for the banking sector because it is the study of social life and focuses on the interaction between human groups and institutions and their influences on each other. These are very much needed for the service sector which is the main crux of banking in the 21 st century. The reliance of other fields, particularly banking, on the knowledge of Sociology is what can be called Applied Sociology .
‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo 6 RECRUITMENT REQUIREMENTS AND LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS 1. Minimum of Second class degree - lower division (even though an upper division would be an added advantage) 2. Computer literacy 3. Good communication skills 4. A fair understanding of numbers (mathematics) 5. An analytic mind 6. Support certificates like ACIB, ICAN, MBA will give competitive edge
‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo 7 RECRUITMENT REQUIREMENTS AND LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT Given the training and skills set mentioned above, a Sociology graduate will readily and easily fit into any one of the following departments in any bank: 1. Human Resources 2. Marketing 3. Relationship Management 4. Product Development 5. Customer Service 6. Corporate Communications The above list of possibilities is only illustrative – many other paths may be open to you and additional education or training may be required. However, following corporate training, self - development/application, a Sociologist can also function in other areas like: 1. Market Research 2. Strategy 3. Treasury Dealing and Management 4. Credit Analysis and Structuring 5. Financial Control 6. Audit and Compliance
‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo 8 CHALLENGES A SOCIOLOGIST MAY FACE IN BANKING 1. Numeric Requirements – To be an accomplished banker, you must have more than a smarting knowledge of figures and calculations. A lot of Sociologists dread figures, thereby limiting the number of departments open to them. 2. Decision Making – While the average sociologist would want to study and analyze situations and developments and compare same with other environments and societies to determine trends, success in banking might require that you sometimes, think on your feet and take market or strategic decisions on the spur of the moment. 3. Process Automation – The fast-paced automation of processes in the banking sector might result in the loss of jobs especially by staff whose functions are generic. The sociologist-banker who does not update his qualifications might run a considerable risk in this regard
‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo CAN A SOCOLOGIST ATTAIN EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT STATUS 9 IN BANKING The myth that you have to be a graduate of Banking and Finance, Accounting or Business Administration to be a successful banker or attain respectable status in banking has been eroded by a retinue of outstanding bankers who started off with degrees in disciplines other than the “anointed” ones. The long list includes the following: 1. SEGUN OLOKETUYI is a Biochemist. He is the MD of Wema Bank 2. BOLA ADESOLA is the MD / CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (Nigeria and West Africa). Her first degree was in Law 3. TONY ELMELU, the former MD of Standard Trust Bank and UBA is a graduate of Economics 4. CECILIA IBRU, MD/CEO of former Oceanic Bank read Sociology as first degree 5. STEVE OMAJAFOR the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zenith Bank is a graduate of Mass Communication 6. UZOMA DOZIE, MD Diamond Bank is a Chemistry graduate 7. CHIKA MBONU former MD of Citizens Bank and Assurance Bank is a graduate of Chemical Engineering 8. NNAMDI OKONKWO who is currently the MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank read Agric Economics 9. PETER AMANGBO, the GMD/CEO of Zenith Bank is a graduate of Electrical Engineering 10. PHILIP ODUOZA who is the current MD of UBA had his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering 11. ADAORA UMEOJI is the Executive Director in charge of Abuja, and the Northern and Middle Belt Zones for Zenith Bank. She holds a Bachelors degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, Plateau State The list is endless. The major ingredient for success in banking is passion and not necessarily your course of study
‘H’ of Heritage bank Logo 10 CONCLUSSION Nobody was born a banker, everything comes by training and the sector is open to any graduate that can prove himself. The summary of everything we have said so far is that with passion, anybody can attain any level in any profession because unlike processes (which you learn in school), passion cannot be copied. If you have passion for banking, nothing and nobody should stop you. Today you are studying this beautiful social science called Sociology and I urge you to work to make a good grade here. Many industries don’t care about course of study (and banking is one of them). They put all of you in the same bucket to slug it out for the employment space. Once you make their required grade (preferably a 2.1 and above) and you are within the specified age bracket, nobody can stop you. One thing I will like you to take away from this meeting: Don’t limit your Challenges, challenge your Limits. Nature makes Nobody halfway. The world is waiting to celebrate you Thank you
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