The state government has partnered with the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia to develop the Next Generation Bankers Academy, a one-week program designed to expose college students to real-life experience working in banks, and increase their understanding of careers in financial services and financial regulation.

The program, which will take place Aug. 13-17 in Harrisburg, Pa., is free of charge but has a competitive admission process. Any rising sophomore, junior, or senior college student who attends a four-year college or university in Pennsylvania or is a resident of Pennsylvania is eligible to apply.

The goal of the Next Generation Bankers Academy is to encourage more young people to build their careers in finance in Pennsylvania.

According to Brian LaForme, the executive deputy secretary for the state's Department of Banking and Securities, the trend of educated young people leaving Pennsylvania to build their careers in banking elsewhere is a part of a “brain drain” experienced by the state as a whole. Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey show that over 47,000 college graduates living in Pennsylvania in 2014 moved to another state in 2015.

The application is now open online for any interested college students who fit the eligibility criteria.