Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has launched a training programme specifically aimed at growing the recruitment partnering skills among its 300-strong recruiting and resourcing workforce.

The Resourcing Academy, which will involve all of LBG’s brands, is part of a wider HR academy and also “in line with a number of academies” being developed across the group, according to Richard Bracher, senior manager resourcing people & change at LBG. Resourcing/recruitment employees from entry-level positions to those reporting to the director of resourcing will take part.

The study materials will range from one-page documents to e-learning modules and face-to-face courses.

“Rather than give them some generic upskilling tools that enable them to do generic jobs at generic levels, we decided we wanted to invest in building the capabilities and the learning interventions that really fit the roles that they play in the resourcing team and in [group resourcing director] Lindsey Tasker’s team within LBG,” Bracher told Recruiter.

The aim is to have “one point of reference to ensure that they absolutely can understand what is required of them in their job, to say ’Here are the capabilities we expect of you at that level as a recruiter’,” Bracher went on to say. “So we are very clear on both the personal competencies and the technical competencies needed to do the job at that level.”

A key area of attention will be to help the group’s resourcing professionals “move away more from a supporting transactional-type role or operational role to being recruitment partners and being much more commercially savvy”, Bracher said.

He explained: “That may be as simple as giving our people the skills to meet senior people, manage the stakehold and have the right conversations, and allow them to influence strategy rather than just get told what to do because the strategy has already been developed.”

A series of roadshows is underway to introduce the academy offerings in the banking group’s major hubs including Bristol, Edinburgh, Halifax, Leeds and London “to really build up people’s knowledge and make sure they are really clear on how to get the best out of this”, Bracher said.