Category: Talent & Culture | Published: 18 August 2026 | Author: Nadia Chowdhury, Head of Talent & Early Careers, BNP Paribas UK
Banking has always been a people business, but the definition of the people it needs is changing faster than at any point in living memory. Sustainable finance, data science, digital assets, climate risk modelling and regulatory technology were peripheral specialisms a decade ago. Today they sit at the centre of client conversations. Building the bank of the future means being honest about which capabilities matter now, and deliberate about how we develop them.
The capabilities in genuine demand
Across our UK businesses, five areas consistently outstrip supply.
Sustainability and climate expertise
Financing the transition requires people who understand both the finance and the underlying science and engineering. Assessing a green hydrogen project, a carbon capture facility or an industrial electrification programme demands technical literacy that traditional credit training does not provide. We increasingly recruit engineers, environmental scientists and energy specialists and teach them finance, rather than the reverse.
Data and quantitative skills
The volume of data available to a modern bank has expanded enormously, but value comes from judgement about what the data means, not from volume alone. We need people who can build models and, critically, who can explain their limitations to a client or a risk committee in plain language.
Technology and cyber resilience
Software engineering, cloud architecture and cyber security are core banking disciplines, not support functions. The competition for this talent extends well beyond financial services, which raises the bar considerably on what we must offer.
Client advisory judgement
As routine execution becomes more automated, the differentiated human contribution is advisory. Understanding a client's strategy, anticipating their constraints, and knowing when to counsel patience rather than a transaction β these remain irreducibly human capabilities, and they take years to develop.
Regulatory and risk literacy
A dense and evolving regulatory environment requires people who can interpret rules commercially, translating requirements into workable structures rather than treating compliance as an obstacle.
What candidates now expect
The relationship between employer and employee has been renegotiated, and financial services has had to move further than most sectors. From our conversations with graduates and experienced hires alike, four expectations recur.
- Purpose that survives scrutiny. Candidates ask specific, well-researched questions about our financing policies and sustainability commitments. Generalities do not satisfy them, and nor should they.
- Genuine flexibility. Hybrid working is now a baseline expectation rather than a benefit. What differentiates employers is whether flexibility is real at senior levels or quietly penalised.
- Visible development. The strongest candidates want to know what they will learn in the first two years, and from whom.
- Inclusion in practice. Representation at senior level, transparent pay practices and inclusive progression are assessed, not assumed.
How we are responding
Our early careers programmes have been redesigned around rotation and breadth, giving graduates exposure across corporate banking, markets, securities services and sustainable finance before they specialise. Apprenticeships have expanded significantly, opening routes into the bank that do not require a university degree and broadening the socio-economic range of people entering the industry.
Internally, we have invested heavily in reskilling. Sustainable finance training is available across all business lines rather than confined to a specialist team, and data literacy programmes are open to colleagues in every function. We take the view that our existing workforce is our most reliable talent pipeline, and that mobility between businesses strengthens both the individual and the institution.
We have also worked to make our schools and university outreach more substantive β financial literacy sessions, mentoring and structured work experience aimed at regions and communities that have historically been under-represented in the City.
The long view
A 150-year-old institution thinks in generations rather than quarters. The colleagues joining us now will be advising clients through the completion of the energy transition, the maturation of digital assets and challenges that have not yet been named. Preparing them well is not a human resources exercise; it is a direct determinant of whether we remain useful to our clients.
Being stewards for the future means investing in the people who will carry the work forward β and building a bank whose culture, ethics and ambition are worth joining.