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Finance

The financial and insurance services industry is a changing and expanding sector of the U.S. economy. Due to expanding bank branch operations offering a wider range of services, Internet banking, 24-hour call centers, and consolidation, banks and financial services offices will need to attract and retain qualified employees to meet their customers' financial and insurance needs.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predict that employment in the financial and insurance services sector will grow by 13.2% adding almost one million additional jobs between 2006 and 2016.

In Wisconsin, the financial and insurance services industry is projected to increase from 133,210 in 2006 to 149,800 in 2016, thus adding 16,590 new jobs during the ten-year period. This represents 12.5% growth rate between 2006 and 2016 Work-Based Requirements

Work-Based Requirements

Employer mentors are trained to teach youth apprentices the skills and knowledge needed to find entry level employment in the financial services industry.

All financial and insurance services workers need to possess good customer service, math, and computer fluency skills. The Finance YA program was structured to require industry-wide foundational skills and industry-specific technical skills.

All Youth Apprentices must complete the core finance foundational knowledge competencies consisting of competencies in employability skills, customer service, safety, security, and basic finance fundamentals. The Required Skill competencies may be completed concurrently with the specific technical skills.

Youth apprentices rotate through two to four major areas at the worksite (see Skills Standards Checklist) and take related classroom instruction at the local high school, technical college or at the worksite.

The Finance program has two options available. The one-year option includes two semesters of classroom instruction which support a minimum of 450 work hours. The two-year option includes four semesters of classroom instruction, which support 900 work hours.

Related Instruction Requirements

Finance related instruction focuses on:

• Business Financial Management: Accounting Services
  Several different accounting specialty tasks will be performed in an accounting department at any type of business.
• Banking and Related Services: Banking Basic
  Required tasks in teller functions with additional learning opportunities in financial products and marketing, support services, and lending will be available in this pathway at a financial institution.
• Insurance: Insurance Services
  Insurance policy and claims processing along with claims investigations are the main tasks required in this pathway related to a rapidly expanding insurance industry in Wisconsin.

Skill Certificate and Advanced Standing

After successful completion of the requirements for a high school diploma and the school-based and work-based requirements for Youth Apprenticeship, the students receive a Certificate of Occupational Proficiency from the Department of Workforce Development. Students who complete the two-year Finance Youth Apprenticeship may be eligible to receive nine or more advanced standing credits from a Wisconsin Technical College offering a related associate degree program.

Download Documents

• Skills Standards Checklist
• Order Form from Dept. of Administration Document Sales Unit
• Finance Program Guide
• Finance Youth Apprenticeship Program Brochure

Resources

• Finance YA Training Web Cast
• Wisconsin Bankers Association Bookstore
• Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
• Center for Financial Training