- Key insight: 1st Summit Bank is starting a training program not just to prepare new employees, but to give local young people a chance at a better future.
- Supporting data: The program, called Ascend 250, offers three years of training and seven years of guaranteed employment.
- Expert quote: "It is very difficult for us to attract talent to Johnstown, Pennsylvania … We're focusing on building that talent as opposed to going out and hiring." — 1st Summit CEO Allison Johnson
At a time when many workers fear losing their jobs to AI, one community bank is investing heavily in human trainees — and promising them years of work.
1st Summit Bank, a $1.5 billion-asset bank in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is launching a three-year training program for high-school graduates interested in a career in banking. And at the end of that training, the bank will offer something unique: a guarantee of seven years of employment.
"They will have a job here with this institution and be afforded all the perks of the program," 1st Summit CEO Allison Johnson told American Banker. "It's goodwill showing that, 'Hey, we're willing to invest in you.'"
The program, called
Then they'll choose one of those departments and train extensively in it for an additional 18 months. All the while, they'll complete banking-related coursework from Pennsylvania Highlands Community College.
From day one, each trainee will earn a salary as an employee of 1st Summit. And at the end of the first three years, they'll have an Associate of Applied Science degree and guaranteed job security for the next seven years.
It's an approach that Andy Keusal, who
"I think it's courageous of them to be the first one I've heard of to step out and do something like this," Keusal said. "I would suspect if it works, word will get around, and other banks will be doing it too."
Johnson, who previously held executive roles at community banks in Florida and Texas, hopes Ascend 250 will help solve two problems. The first is that many of 1st Summit's bankers are nearing retirement and will need to be replaced. The second problem, which compounds the first, is that people are leaving Johnstown — from 2010 to 2025, according to the
"We need to do something proactive to stop the bleeding," Johnson said. "This community has told people they have to go to Pittsburgh to have a white-collar job … The narrative has to change there."
Bringing jobs home
Typically, Keusal said, banks use one of two methods to hire new workers: train or poach.
"Some banks like to go find their own recruits, typically out of school, and invest the time and money to train them, and then they feel they'll have a higher percentage of retention," Keusal said. "Other banks say it's just not worth it to put forth that training. They'd rather have other banks train them, and then they'll essentially pick those people off."
In 1st Summit's case, Johnson said, the second method is simply not realistic — so the bank is leaning heavily on the first.
"It is very difficult for us to attract talent to Johnstown, Pennsylvania," Johnson said. "We're focusing on building that talent as opposed to going out and hiring."
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To keep that talent in Johnstown, Ascend 250 will offer help buying a home. 1st Summit will provide both down-payment assistance and below-market mortgage rates to its trainees, who the bank hopes will use those perks to set down roots in the area.
"There are plenty of reasons to want to stay and live in this town," Johnson said. "There are viable careers here. This is a good place to live. We have a low cost of living. It's beautiful here."
At a time when young homeownership is plunging, those mortgage perks could prove highly attractive. In 2024, just 29% of U.S. adults under age 35 owned their homes, according to the
And there's also another benefit: no student loans. As total U.S. student debt balloons to $1.86 trillion, according to the
Taken together, Johnson said, the training program isn't just meant to prepare and retain employees. It's also an effort to shore up the American Dream in a place where, for many young people, it feels out of reach.
"We used to believe that you could come to this country, work hard and be able to attain certain goals," Johnson said. "This is our attempt to give high-school graduates that certainty back."
