People with degrees in arts and science may seem like an unlikely match for the finance industry, but Commonwealth Bank has doubled its intake of graduates in these fields in the past year.

Commonwealth Bank’s General Manager for Talent Acquisition James Elliott said the bank is looking for graduates who offer a diverse range of skills to better meet the changing needs of customers. 

“There continues to be a rapid change in the way customers interact with businesses, and indeed it is true for financial institutions,” Mr Elliott said. 

“So now, more than ever, there is greater need for graduates who are skilled in problem solving, critical thinking and communication. 

“In our current cohort of graduates, we have a biomedical engineer with a background in neurosurgery and a performing arts graduate who are both helping us with data analytics.”

Commonwealth Bank’s Graduate Program has expanded significantly, increasing by more than 50 positions in the past two years. CBA accepted 160 graduates for 2018, from 34 different universities across 58 different degree majors.

For the fourth consecutive year, Commonwealth Bank has been ranked the number one employer in the banking and financial services industry as part of the Top 100 Graduate Employee Rankings survey undertaken by GradAustralia.  

“We recruit from the broadest talent pools, because we know the value diversity brings to the business and the community,” Mr Elliott said.

Applications for Commonwealth Bank’s 2019 Graduate Program are open until 25 March 2018. For more information visit commbank.com.au/unlikelymatch