“I just know I’m in a position of power to change people’s lives. I think Goodwill is in a position do the same thing, and they’re doing that through this program.”
Ryan Jor El, Vice President, Store Manager at TD Bank is paying it forward in his new career in the financial industry, but it wasn’t long ago he was working in another industry himself.
“I spent 20 years in the fashion industry, so banking is not my background, but because of my years of fashion, retail, hospitality and customer service, I was able to transition into banking,” Jor El explained.
Earlier this year, Jor El became involved with Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont when he helped the nonprofit with BankWork$, one of its tuition-free training programs. Jor El speaks with classes, informs of banking trends and offers his services to assist with mock interviews, in addition to hiring participants that graduate from the class.
“I think the work that Goodwill is doing to get people equipped for the banking industry through the Bankwork$ program, especially in the second largest banking capital in the nation, is not only helping the community, but it’s helping them individually,” Jor El said. “You’re giving them the skills and the characteristics they need to work for a bank in a banking capital.”
BankWork$ is an eight-week immersive career training program delivered by Goodwill that gives people the skills, access, and coaching needed to succeed and grow in banking careers—from understanding the financial services workplace to bank regulations, bank products, cash handling, and processing customer transactions. Graduates are prepared for roles such as: Associate Banker, Branch Banker, Client Services Representative, Lead Teller, Member Service Consultant, Personal Banker, Relationship Banker, Teller, and Call Center Representative.
Since its launch in Fall 2023, the nonprofit has helped 42 participants from four cohorts achieve employment, 30 of those jobs in the banking industry. Leaders in the financial sector like Jor El are helping the nonprofit work toward its bold vision of providing meaningful employment to 15,000 individuals by 2029, and together the organizations are creating a new talent pipeline to address the critical issue of economic mobility in the Charlotte region.
To date, TD Bank has hired two participants from the program and hopes to continue the trend. Jor El has gone beyond just hiring talent, he regularly signs up to speak with classes, attends employer roundtables and helps with mock interviews to make sure participants stand out when applying for jobs.
“I’m able to come to the BankWork$ program because part of my role is people development and business development,” Jor El explained. “It’s not just about the money. We really do empower our people. If there’s a cause that you want to get behind, something that’s special to you, you can use company time to do that.”
For Jor El, who is from south Charlotte, and grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, TD Bank’s commitment to community is one that aligns with his own personal values. He knows that programs like BankWork$ not only help with economic mobility but can make a difference in the community.
Transition can be difficult, especially in a professional setting, but Jor El brings a personal and relatable experience to the classroom when speaking with participants. “I know certainly for your program; this is a pivot. Maybe they [participants] were doing something for so many different years and they want to try banking, or maybe they got laid off and they want to try banking,” Jor El explained when speaking of some of the participant stories he’s learned.
His involvement with the program has helped him to find and hire great talent like Dominique Dantzler, who works as a Retail Banker II for TD Bank. While attending a City of Charlotte hiring event at the Goodwill Opportunity Campus in March, she met Employer Engagement Specialist Julie Salinas who told her about BankWork$. Dominique enrolled and graduated from the program.
“Having a training and development program to give you a kickstart is important. Obviously, every company is going to do training, but that person that’s been through a banking program in an interview for a banking job is going to have a leg up on the person who has no banking experience at all,” Jor El said.
Tuition-free training programs like the one Dominique took are available to the community, thanks to shopping and donating at Goodwill’s 36 retail locations and more than 40 donation sites, in addition to corporate, community and philanthropic donations.
Jor El hopes to see more financial institutions get involved with the BankWork$ program and hire the amazing talent it’s producing. “I would highly encourage the power of presence to show up to one of these sessions, one of these classroom trainings, one of these graduations,” he said. He finished with, “You can’t get experience if nobody ever gives you a shot.”
The Charlotte region is home to more than 100,000 financial services jobs1, and it is the second-largest banking center in the nation. With no other workforce development programs dedicated to the finance industry in the greater Charlotte region, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, in partnership with The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and CareerWork$, expanded its training division to offer the BankWork$® program.
