Deutsche Bank hires graduates in new roles

Deutsche Bank has widened its graduate recruitment programme, to include trainees for its marketing and human resources departments for the first time.

The numbers are not huge. Globally, only six recruits are coming in under the new scheme later this year. But the move is something of a departure from established practice.

It is unusual for investment banks to recruit graduates for human resources and marketing positions; in 2001 UBS Warburg and Goldman Sachs were among the only banks to do so.

Jane Houzer, head of training at Deutsche, said: 'We wanted to start growing our own people. Investment banks tend to take HR and marketing talent from other areas. As a major employer we felt that we should be supplying rather than removing talent from the market."

HR and marketing are support positions, but gaining a place as a trainee is

not an easy option. Deutsche received 110 applicants for its 2 UK human resources positions.

Houzer says some of those were hoping to use human resources as a

route into the front office. They were unsuccessful. The bank requires applicants to

demonstrate a clear interest in the department applied for.

Criteria for success include: relevant work experience, foreign languages and either a

first class or 2.1 degree in a related subject, such as human resources, industrial relations, marketing or business studies.

Overall, Deutsche said it will hire hundreds of graduate trainees this year in Europe for front office and other positions, but it declined to give the exact figure. Most banks are hiring many fewer graduates than last year because of the economic downturn.