First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s most valuable bank brand has clinched the Silver Award for Best Impact by Corporate University on Implementation of Business Strategies of the Organisation in the Global Council for Corporate Universities (GlobalCCU) Awards 2015. The Bank achieved this feat through its corporate academy for Learning & Development – FirstAcademy, after a rigorous entry process cutting across 51 countries from all continents across the globe. The awards recognise and reward the very best Corporate Universities worldwide that have performed at the highest level of excellence and have created value for People, Business and Society across the world.
The Bank’s FirstAcademy is the first corporate academy of its kind in Nigeria and it is affiliated to the Global Association of Corporate Universities and Academies and the World Institute of Action Learning. It was established to provide strategic platform for competence development, knowledge management, culture change, and overall organizational transformation. The ultimate focus of the academy is to transform FirstBank into a world-class learning organisation through best-in-class learning structures aimed at achieving the Bank’s strategic objectives and business priorities. Through FirstAcademy, the Bank invests in its staff by providing exceptional learning interventions which enables them to be rated among the best in their chosen field. The academy also enjoys a working partnership with top Ivy League Institutions such as INSEAD, Michigan Ross School of Business, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management and Lagos Business School (LBS).
In a statement by Filippo Romanini of the Global CCU Awards, FirstAcademy has demonstrated an effective process in securing alignment between company strategy and the academy’s strategy and learning activities, the simplicity and efficiency of its governance with a good connection to internal stakeholders, as well as remarkable connection of knowledge and learning through mobile solutions to increase the digital agility of its people.
FirstAcademy provides ample support across various FirstBank geographies in Sub-Saharan Africa and representative offices in South Africa, China and Abu Dhabi and currently has six campuses across Nigeria in Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Enugu, Jos, and Kano. According to the Group Head, Human Capital Management and Development, Ms. Barbara A. Harper, the Bank is pleased with this recognition and would continue to provide structured and holistic talent development for its staff to develop a professional workforce equipped with the competitive skills and competencies to excel.