Consumers Credit Union’s (CCU) Banking Apprenticeship Program offers paid work experience while fully supporting you earning an Associate Degree. Apprentices can build a wonderful career in financial services while launching their college experience! CCU’s Banking Apprenticeship Program helps build talent for our banking branch locations in Northern Illinois. We see this program as a great way to infuse the branch network with fresh talent and new ideas while helping individuals establish a career path, earn money, and get their Associate Degree covered 100%!! We are seeking recent high school graduates (will accept class of 2023 grads) and career changers that have not yet started college coursework toward a degree.

It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? It’s true – see the details below to learn more!

• 2-year program (6 semesters, including two summers), starting July 2023
• Attend classes to complete your Associate of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Degree at College of Lake County (CLC)
• Gain work experience in the financial services industry by working as a Branch Specialist in our banking branches in Mundelein, Round Lake Beach or Kildeer. You will learn branch operations, customer service skills, and sales techniques as you perform teller and personal banker responsibilities.
• You will dedicate 40 hours per week to this paid opportunity with work and school combined. Part of the week you will be in the branch working and learning, the other part of the week you will attend college classes with our other Apprentices.
• We will pay you an hourly rate + you will be eligible for benefits + eligible to earn incentives and an annual bonus for working in the branch. We will also cover your tuition, books, and fees while you’re enrolled in the CLC Associate Degree program!
• During the program you will be assigned a mentor and will be provided with developmental opportunities. You may even be eligible for a promotion to Sr Branch Specialist and a pay increase based on your performance!
• Apprentices are required to maintain passing grades of ‘C’ or higher and meet all job-related CCU performance expectations throughout the duration of the program.
• The goal is to successfully prepare you to grow your career in the branch network, ultimately working your way to an Assistant Branch Manager and Branch Manager in the future. Or maybe there is another area of the Credit Union that will appeal to you such as Lending, Sales, or New Accounts.

About the Branch Specialist position

As a Branch Specialist, you will become a master working in a hybrid role! This position is a combination of being a Concierge, Teller, and Personal Banker. You'll provide outstanding service while greeting members (Concierge), performing financial transactions (Teller), opening accounts (Personal Banker) and educating members on our products and services! This is a wonderful early career position especially if you're interested in banking/financial services, being in a member-facing role with the ability to learn about branch operations and are looking for growth opportunities.

Your day-to-day will include greeting members as they enter the branch or use the drive up lanes; assisting members with their self-service transactions by educating them on the interactive teller machine (ITM) and its related functions; assisting with teller transactions, member service issues, account maintenance, and other operational duties assigned by the Branch Manager and/or Assistant Branch Manager; opening new consumer accounts efficiently and accurately; identifying opportunities to refer members to additional products/services including consumer loan and mortgage products, as well as wealth advisors; seeking out and making recommendations for process improvements related to member service delivery and other branch efficiencies; ensuring adherence to all policies, procedures, compliance, audits, quality control and balancing standards.

Requirements

• High School diploma or equivalent + minimum age of 18 by July 1, 2023
• 1+ year of work experience in retail, customer service, guest relations, sales, and cash handling
• Desire to build a career in the banking/financial services industry
• Intermediate computer skills (MS office, data entry, intranet/internet, email)
• Verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to multitask and work in a fast-paced environment
• Strong desire to learn at work and in the classroom
• Collaboration and teamwork skills
• Ability to dedicate 40 hours to work and school Monday-Friday
• Acceptance into College of Lake County’s Associates of Applied Sciences program

About Consumers Credit Union (CCU)

We’re a financial institution just like a bank, except not exactly. Banks have customers, but because we’re a not-for-profit, member-owned credit union, we have members. And because we’re not a bank, we don’t drive up profits just because shareholders demand it. Instead, we focus on driving up member happiness through low loan rates, high deposit rates and low- or no-fee products and services. We focus on things like transparency, simplicity, helpfulness, integrity, positivity and inclusion – and we always put our members first.

In fact, we serve over 200,000 members and have over $3 billion in assets. We employ nearly 500 people in the Chicago area and have 15 branch locations in Illinois. We offer access to a national shared branching network, and more than 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs worldwide. And although we’ve been around for over 90 years, we’re just getting started!

At CCU you'll enjoy

An awesome culture that appreciates hard work and delivers on fun, collaboration, respect, and innovation. Add competitive pay and a company that believes in developing our employees to their fullest potential and we're the total package!

CCU offers a comprehensive benefits package designed with you and your family in mind:

• FREE basic life, short term and long-term disability insurance. And we have a FREE employee-only fitness center!
• Multiple plan options for medical and dental, vision coverage, tax-advantaged spending accounts, employee assistance program, tuition assistance, paid parental leave, and more.
• 11 company paid holidays, plus CCYou Day - a paid day off when you can focus on your wellbeing. And generous paid time off – new hires accrue up to 4 weeks of PTO in the first year!
• Retirement plans – We've got two of them to help provide for long term financial stability! A 401k with company matching, and a pension plan that is fully funded by CCU.

Equal Opportunity Employer

CCU complies with the requirements and spirit of the law in the implementation of all facets of equal opportunity in employment. There will be no discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, genetic information, military status (including unfavorable discharge from the military), criminal or arrest history (unless job related), crime victim status, or any other protected characteristic in the recruitment, selection, training, utilization, promotion, termination, or any other employment actions or term and condition of employment. CCU complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which CCU has facilities.

We are committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please contact our Human Resources team at: HR_Dept@myconsumers.org or 877-275-2228.