Learning and development

The business world is changing – fast. That’s why we’re committed to helping our employees build skills to use now and nurture capabilities for the future.

Our ultimate goal is to enable employees to thrive in their environment and remain lifelong learners.

Around the world, our employees completed more than three million learning activities last year.

Key development programs

All of our employee development programs are specially designed to enhance and refine our employees’ skills and to equip them with the tools they need to meet our clients’ ever-evolving needs.

Take, for example, our approach to UBS Skills Development. It’s aimed at developing client advisors and employees within our organization. The key pillars include Professional Certification and Sustainability Investment.

Client advisors and other key client-facing staff go through our externally recognized professional certification program. Originally created within UBS to combine the development of highly specialized functional know-how with practical application, this program is now available to the banking industry. Further, since 2015, UBS has maintained the leading position in updating learning objectives, and we’ve adapted the program’s body of knowledge to put greater emphasis on sustainable investing, digital client management and interaction.

We nominate client advisors to achieve their initial certification within two years of starting their role, and recertification is required every three years. Benefits include:

a curriculum of practical and client-focused training that exceeds the external accreditation set by ISO 17024
client advisors meet the UBS Quality Standards for knowledge and competence and are equipped to deliver the high-quality client experience standards set for their segment

By supporting externally recognized certification for all relevant role holders, UBS sets clear standards for delivering on our client promise. Client-facing staff with relationship responsibilities consistently achieve above-average client success, with certified advisors generating approximately 2-3x more Net New Money / Net New Fee Generating Assets NNFGA as their non-certified peers.

Our Sustainability Investment initiative is a new element in our approach to skills development. In collaboration with a leading US university, it provides professionals across the firm with the knowledge and tools they need to make sustainable investment decisions that may lead to higher risk-adjusted returns.

Additionally, in 2024, we partnered with a leading external provider to offer thousands of additional learning opportunities to all staff, including external staff. Covering a wide range of topics including artificial intelligence and digital literacy, these offerings promote lifelong learning and enable our employees to earn certificates from top universities and institutions.

Talent and mobility

Our approach supports the development and retention of our people and increases internal mobility. Within it, initiatives such as LEAP and Grow your Career contribute to a culture of cross-divisional and international mobility for early-career talent, mid-career professionals and senior leaders.

LEAP (Learn, Evolve, Acquire, Provide)¹ is a dedicated nine-month, structured talent development initiative for early-career talent who demonstrate outstanding performance, potential and a readiness for career progression. It focuses on building self-awareness, influencing skills, innovation, collaborative working and networking skills. Similarly, through our Grow your Career internal mobility initiative, all employees can explore career paths, search for jobs and short-term rotation opportunities and connect with mentors on our self-service platform. Both of these initiatives include a mix of in-person and virtual elements and are offered across the UBS organization. Together, they contribute to a culture of respect and collaboration and help ensure that we have strong talent pipelines at all levels across the firm.

¹ Eligible population: EE & AO rank in strategic delivery locations. Most key talents in these ranks and locations joined LEAP in 2024.

Benefits and impact

Foster a culture of cross-divisional and internal mobility, leveraging a broad internal talent slate from across the organization for open roles
Promote teamwork, knowledge sharing, cross-functional/departmental collaboration and inclusion
Provide awareness and opportunities to foster career development via our 3Es (education, exposure and experience) and mentoring
2024 internal hiring rates: 52.6% of all roles were filled by internal candidates
Over 72% of LEAP participants used mentoring
LEAP participants show higher average performance rating
LEAP participants were promoted approximately 3x more since the beginning of the program compared to the control group.
LEAP participants decided to leave the company 4x less after the program compared to the control group.

Overall, we provide employees the visibility and opportunities to enable successful and thriving careers. Mentorship and sponsorship, embedded in (and supplemental to) talent development programs help ensure employees have a range of development opportunities. Through a mix of online and in-person training, self-directed learning and coaching, we further support our employees’ career journeys and aspirations. We foster network-building and collaboration through cross-divisional workshops and access to employee networks.

Our impact in facts and figures

Item	Item	Indicator	Indicator	2024	2024
Item	L1 - Learning	Indicator	UBS Group learning activities in million	2024	>3.0
			% of eligible population (incl. external staff) through external provider		100%
			% of eligible population participating in certification		97.3%
			% of eligible population selected to participate in LEAP¹		4.4%
Item	L2 - Mobility, Mentoring	Indicator	Percentage of roles filled by internal candidates (internal mobility)	2024	52.6%
Item	L2 - Mobility, Mentoring		LEAP participants with an active mentoring relationship		72.9%
Item	L3 - Behavior	Indicator	LEAP self-assessment participation to increase personal effectiveness	2024	84.1%
Item	L3 - Behavior		Less attrition LEAP participants vs control group		4x
Item	L4 - Output	Indicator	LEAP satisfaction	2024	4.53 out 5
Item	L4 - Output		Higher promotion LEAP participants vs control group		3x
Item	L5 - Results	Indicator	Investment in training in USD billion	2024	0.1
Item	L5 - Results		Increase in Net New Money & Net New Fee Generating Assets certified vs non-certified advisors		2-3x

UBS awards

We’re globally recognized as a top employer.

Learning for life

Our in-house UBS University helps our employees build skills to use now, along with new capabilities for the future. We offer industry-leading certification for client advisors and regulatory, business and line manager training alongside modules on culture, sustainable finance, artificial intelligence, data literacy, well-being and other topics.

Our innovative learning platform makes AI-powered training recommendations based on an employee’s needs and interests, and a new collaboration with a leading external provider now enables us to offer thousands of additional learning opportunities to all staff.

Altogether, our permanent employees completed more than three million learning activities in 2024 (including mandatory training on compliance, business, and other topics) – an average of 24.8 training hours per employee.

UBS Careers

We invest in our employees’ development and help them grow their careers. We aim to create a culture of cross-divisional and international mobility for early-career talent, mid-career professionals and senior leaders.

Managers promote individual development and job mobility by having regular development-focused check-ins with their employees to drive growth. Support is provided through our UBS My Career platform – promoting a suite of self-service tools available on demand to explore career paths and short-term rotation opportunities, search for jobs and connect with mentors. In 2024, 53% of all roles were filled by internal candidates and more than 55,000 employees accessed our internal job board.

We take a systematic and meritocratic approach to talent management, including structured talent and succession reviews to help us identify versatile leaders, ensure business continuity and proactively manage employee development. We also offer Group-wide, divisional and function-specific talent development programs at all career stages.

UBS Career Comeback