Financial institutions including TD Bank and Bank of America are looking to universities to fill technology roles, providing on-the-job training and eventual job placement for college students.

The $1.4 trillion TD Bank, for one, launched a new technology hub at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in April to tap into its ongoing relationship with the Alan B. Levan Center of Innovation at the college, according to the bank.

Amid TD’s ongoing efforts to hire more than 2,000 technology roles in 2022, the bank plans to add 200 new tech roles though the partnership “to help enhance our innovation and customer delivery capabilities,” Greg Keely, senior executive vice president, platforms and technology at TD Bank, said in a recent release.

Similarly, the $780 million Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) launched a tech hub in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this month, also with the goal of filling much-needed tech roles.

The facility marks the bank’s second tech hub in six months, developed through its ongoing partnerships with Monash University and RMIT University, according to a bank release. The hub can support more than 400 software developers, cloud engineers and cybersecurity specialists.

“We are seeing a need for deeper technology skills, both within CBA and within other companies,” Brendan Hopper, chief information officer at Commonwealth, told Bank Automation News. “Establishing tech hubs in Adelaide, and now Melbourne, allows us to recruit from a broader pool, but also allows us to embed our people in educational institutions.”

As part of the initiative, university students will complete work for the bank and in turn be provided with permanent job placement in several different roles such as Dev/Ops, software engineering and data analysis, Hopper said.

The bank will continue to evaluate locations for its next technology hub.

The need for tech talent is proving an ongoing challenge for financial institutions. In the second quarter, Ally Financial, Truist and PayPal all reported tech talent acquisition efforts to enhance servicing capabilities and fill product and engineering roles.

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