From left: China Bank’s Tani Michelle Cruz, HR Deputy Group Head; Roskie Testa, HR Group Head;
and Patrick Cheng, Chief Finance Officer; LinkedIn’s Cliff Adora, Enterprise Account Director;
and China Bank’s John Camarillo, Learning & Capability Development Division Head,
during the signing ceremony on August 12, 2022 at the China Bank office in Makati City.

In line with its commitment to talent development, China Banking Corporation (China Bank) has partnered with the world’s largest professional platform, LinkedIn, to introduce to its about 9,800 employees in the Philippines courses for upskilling and reskilling.  Starting August 16, 2022, all China Bank employees will be able to get access to LinkedIn Learning, an online educational platform with more than 18,000 courses that impart a variety of hard and soft skills.

The collaboration opens up vast opportunities for China Bank employees nationwide to enhance their skills and learn new ones for their personal and professional growth in today’s increasingly skills-first economy.

“As we pursue our digital transformation, investing in new technologies to make China Bank an agile, modern organization, we are not forgetting that people are the catalysts of this transformation. The business landscape is changing faster than ever; thus, it’s crucial that we continuously upskill China Bankers to stay competitive and relevant in this digital age,” said China Bank Chief Finance Officer Patrick Cheng.  

China Bank bought LinkedIn Learning licenses so its employees can have unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning’s courses and learning content across business, creative, and technical categories, some of which are eligible for certification and professional credits.  The Bank named the platform Learning EDGE (Empowered talents Driving Growth and Excellence) and saw it as an efficient way to build skills at scale and to close critical skill gaps across the enterprise. 

“Nowadays, ease-of-use and mobile capabilities are essential in training. Learning EDGE, available anytime on any device, will help us keep our people stay sharp with the skills needed for their roles now and in the future,” said China Bank Human Resources Group Head Roskie Testa.  

China Bank had a pilot run of the platform in July with over 500 employees then surveyed them on their experiences. The results show that the pilot run participants found the courses useful, practical, and expertly produced.  

Leadership courses figured prominently among the top 10 most popular ones that these 500 China Bank employees signed up for in the past month, specifically on sessions such as “Transformational Leadership” and “Leading Your Team Through Change.” There was also interest in how to identify emerging risks, how to protect profits and assets, and team members in times of change.

“As the world recovers from the fallout of the pandemic and looks towards a skills-first economy, companies like China Bank are future-proofing their businesses and helping employees to be successful through continuous learning. Globally, the skills needed in any particular role have been changing quickly over time. In the Philippines, we have observed an over 50 per cent change in the top skills for the finance industry since 2015, according to LinkedIn’s Future of Skills report. LinkedIn’s unique position as the world’s largest professional network allows us to quickly spot market trends and create relevant content for learners.  By investing in its people, China Bank can effectively and efficiently plug any vital skill gaps, retain and attract top talent, and be at the forefront of navigating change in these fast-evolving times,” said LinkedIn’s Frank Koo, Head of Asia, Talent & Learning Solutions.

Learning EDGE now becomes the Bank’s centralized, always available e-learning platform, complementing the Bank’s in-house training and development programs through China Bank Academy. Employees can customize their learning pathways using the assessment tool on Learning EDGE to find curated learning content for their specific job functions, or to discover new growth opportunities for their roles.

Learning EDGE will be rolled out bank-wide on August 16, China Bank’s 102nd anniversary.