3 April 2014

Created in 2013, following an initiative of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and  Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), and with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the GAN brings together global business leaders to share best practices in the design and implementation of work-based training, apprenticeships and “on-the-job training”- building on local traditions, but with an eye to the future needs of business.

For UBS Group Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti, putting high value on vocational training is a part of the bank’s strategy. Having made the journey himself from apprentice to Chief Executive of one of the world’s largest financial service companies, Ermotti exemplifies the benefits of on-the-job training and lifelong learning. Every year, UBS offers training programs to more than two thousand young people, including apprentices, school leavers, students and university graduates, many of whom remain with the bank, constituting a strong talent pipeline and contributing to UBS’s competitiveness and sustainable success. Education and preparing young people for the workplace also form a core part of UBS’s Community Affairs efforts.

“Being a major training provider ourselves, we strongly believe in the benefits of work-based training. Apprenticeships and other forms of on-the-job learning have manifold benefits, fostering employability and skills in young people and developing the competencies businesses need to maintain their competitiveness in the future,” said Ermotti. “We are delighted to contribute to the GAN, which is providing a unique global platform for knowledge transfer between countries and industries on diverse and innovative approaches to vocational training and apprenticeship models.”

IOE Secretary-General Brent Wilton and BIAC Secretary-General Bernhard Welschke have welcomed UBS to the network, “We are delighted that UBS is joining the GAN – sharing its long experience and tradition in investing in young people in over 50 countries. Its success in the industry shows that this is a key ingredient in creating a firm foundation for sustaining competitiveness in an increasingly globalized business environment.

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UBS draws on its heritage of more than 150 years to serve private, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland. Its business strategy is centered on its pre-eminent global wealth management businesses and its leading universal bank in Switzerland. Together with a client-focused Investment Bank and a strong, well-diversified Global Asset Management business, UBS will expand its premier wealth management franchise and drive further growth across the Group.

Established in 1920, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) is the largest network of the private sector in the world. With I50 business and employer organization members in 143 countries, it is the global voice of business in social and labour policy debate at the international level.

The Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) is an independent international business association devoted to advising government policymakers at OECD and related fora on the many diversified issues of globalisation and the world economy. Recognised since its founding in 1962 as the representative of the OECD business community, BIAC promotes the interests of business by engaging, understanding and advising policy makers on a broad range of issues.

UBS actively engages with the communities it is part of around the globe. In 2013, UBS and its affiliated foundations made direct cash donations totaling CHF 28.3 million to carefully selected non-profit partner organizations and charities with a focus on the key themes of education and entrepreneurship. Additionally, spending on the UBS Education Initiative amounted to CHF 14.0 million. Across all business regions, UBS’s employees play a very active role in UBS’s community investment efforts, in particular through their volunteering activities. In 2013, 10,648 UBS employees spent 91,370 hours volunteering.