InformationWeek.com

Welcome Guest. | Log In| Register | Membership Benefits

September 28, 1998

Wells Fargo Grows Its Own IT Talent

Bank teams with University of Phoenix on training program

By Bruce Caldwell

etting the best IT talent is tough in today's IT labor market, so Wells Fargo Bank N.A. is developing its own. The bank has enrolled 44 IS employees in an 11-course curriculum it developed jointly with the University of Phoenix.

The courses, which began in July and finish in December, include such hot topics as middleware, project management, and Internet technology. There's also a course on Wells Fargo's IT architecture taught by both university instructors and bank executives.

The program is free to employees who are sponsored by the San Francisco bank. Employees selected for the program must have a minimum of two years of experience in systems and perform at a high level, says Patricia Delich, Wells Fargo's IT college program manager.

The courses are taught one day a week at the San Francisco and Tempe, Ariz., campuses of the University of Phoenix, a private university with 49,000 students at 65 campuses. The university has been offering customized courses for corporate employees for about seven years, says Geralyn Phillips, manager of the center for professional education for the university's Phoenix campuses.

Whether employees take the training and run to the nearest IT recruiter remains to be seen. "Someone could take the training and go elsewhere," admits Delich, "but we think it creates more loyalty for the company."

The university's training program actually began several years ago, but was disrupted when Wells Fargo acquired First Interstate Bank in 1996, according to Jean Bourne, senior VP of organizational services within the bank's IT organization.

Later this year, Wells Fargo expects to complete its merger with Norwest Corp., creating a financial services powerhouse with more than $190 billion in assets. But the pending merger isn't expected to derail either the courses or the other components of a program to improve the working environment for the bank's 1,500 IT employees and keep turnover low. So far, Bourne says, the annual turnover rate among IT employees at Wells Fargo is 12%-less than half that of other companies in the Silicon Valley region.

Back to Career

Send Us Your Feedback

Top of the Page