Banking jobs in France: spotlight on a sector that is hiring

26.08.2016 | Careers

Now employing 370,300 people, the banking sector is one of the top private employers in France. Jobs are created in every region, for people of all educational levels and across many different professions. Let’s take a look at the variety of banking jobs available.

Focus on recruitment in the banking sector in 2015

39,000

people recruited in the banking sector

66%

jobs are open-ended contracts

6,000

work-study contracts

1,000

VIE contracts

Many jobs & many open-ended contracts!

In 2015, the French banking sector recruited over 39,000 people, according to the French Banking Association (AFB), having hired almost 35,000 people in 2014 . Also important to note, 66% of these jobs are open-ended contracts – compared to an average of only 20% for the rest of France.

Among the many job offerings, work-study opportunities play an important role. It remains a key recruiting tool for banking, while young people appreciate the opportunity to combine education and paid work, all while gaining a crucial first experience. In 2015, French banks offered more than 6,000 work-study contracts: through apprenticeship or professionalization contracts, for students up to the Master’s level (Bac+5).

This is in addition to the more than 1,000 V.I.E. contracts (international corporate volunteer program ) that allow young people to work abroad for a period of six months to two years, discovering both a new profession and a new country!

Professions in every field

Banking offers a vast array of different professions. First off, there are a large number of customer relations and sales professions, which account for over half of all recruiting operations.

One in five bank employees works in a “support profession ": human resources, marketing, management control, risk analysis or compliance and finance functions – all very active recruiters.

Finally, the professions tied to processing transactions combine the areas of back-office management and banking transactions.

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Within a context of transformation, influenced heavily by new technologies and a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, these professions are always changing, along with the skills they require. For that reason, alongside the host of IT professions present in banking (analysts, programmers, project managers, etc.), banks now have a crucial need for specialists in new technologies (networks, agile methods, e-banking, innovative payments, big data, etc.), in order to remain at the cutting-edge of innovation.

Within a context of transformation, these professions are always changing, along with the skills they require.

A few banking professions

In sales: Head of Retail Banking or Professional Clientele, Market Operator, Wealth Management Advisor, Real Estate Advisor, etc.
In processing: Back Office Manager, Middle Office Savings Manager, etc.
In support functions: Market Risk Analyst, Legal Advisor, International Tax Advisor, Management Control Officer, Financial Report and Fiscal Accountant, Career Manager, Strategic Marketing Head, etc.
In IT: Service Delivery Manager, Developer Analyst, IT Engineer, etc.

Why work in banking?

Beyond its dynamic position in the job market, banking also places an extra emphasis on skill development, one of its key concerns. As a result, banks dedicate more than 3.5% of their workforce to continuing education for employees (compared to an average of 2.7% at French companies): a way for employees to continually advance and maintain their employability throughout their careers!

In recent years, the AFB has reported a rise in the qualifications needed to obtain a job. Today, while 90% of applicants have at least some university education (Bac+2), young graduates with Master’s degrees (Bac+4/5) make up more than 45% of all new hires.

In addition, while banking is typically perceived as a male-dominated field, the reality is far different. In France, women represented 51.7% of banking staff in 2014 (with 46% of management positions held by women, a rate that is rarely achieved in other sectors).

Discover the Jobs of a changing world .

BNP Paribas is hiring

In 2016, BNP Paribas in France will recruit over 3,000 new employees in open-ended contracts, 2,000 in work-study contracts and more than 1,000 interns.

Over 300 different professions are available across the Group: opportunities abound for applicants from every background!

BNP Paribas has also made well-being at work one of its top priorities. This commitment has earned it certification as a “Top Employer Europe 2016” and “Top Employer France 2016”, for the third year in a row.