Professional development and Internal Job Market

The training and development of people represent a fundamental pillar in which the Group continues to invest, with the aim of creating a unique ecosystem of skills aligned with future challenges. With this in mind, the Group has further strengthened its oversight of compulsory training, regulated by internal regulations governing the methods and criteria for its use. All people with an employment contract are required to complete the training courses provided, thus ensuring the correct performance of their activities, full knowledge of the regulations and company processes and compliance with the requests of the Supervisory Authorities

To meet the challenge of excellence in a complex context, training is constantly renewed to support the business results of today and tomorrow with the following objectives:

• develop distinctive professional and managerial skills at all levels;
• Encourage the transmission of key values, correlating the learning of principles to daily behaviors to strengthen corporate identity;
• Accompany the Group's growth by supporting innovation, internationality and inclusion;
• Support the development of companies and spread financial and entrepreneurial culture towards customers, enhancing the Group's know-how and image.

In 204, the hours of training used reached a total of about 14.3 million (~40.7 million hours of training provided since 2022).

• All training, including compulsory training, is carried out with the support of a dedicated supplier in order to guarantee high quality standards and constantly updated content according to the specific needs of the Group. The collaboration between Intesa Sanpaolo and Digit'Ed S.p.A. (Intesa Sanpaolo's partner in the implementation of training initiatives), a company established in 2022 following the transfer of the training business unit, continued during 2024;
• In 2024, in continuity with what was done in the previous year, in order to further strengthen the oversight of compulsory training, corrective mechanisms were introduced to the incentive system for people who do not complete compulsory training within the established deadline;
• On a thematic level, the training offer has been expanded and updated with the publication of new digital content to incorporate the regulatory updates on Legislative Decree 231, Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Corruption. During 2024, a specific Training Plan on "ICT and Security Risks" was prepared which, in the current context characterized by a strong push towards the digitization of processes and tools, technological development and the complex situation of international politics, provided for training and awareness-raising initiatives, aimed at increasing people's awareness and know-how on the main ICT risks. A digital training line on the Code of Conduct has also been published;
• The training initiatives are aimed both at all the Group's people (e.g. threats from phishing, cyberfraud and new trends) and at population clusters that oversee specific business risks. This also includes the MATRIX Project, designed with the aim of creating an ecosystem of models and tools for human resources, aimed at supporting the Group's technological development with adequate resources, which, in continuity with 2023, has planned a major investment in training in order to respond to the evolving needs of the company's workforce and encourage the acquisition and enhancement of key knowledge in the IT field;
• In order to promote prudent assumption of current and prospective risks at all levels of the organization, with a particular focus on those related to climate change and technological innovation, information, awareness and training initiatives have been provided in the field of risk culture and management;
• In 2024, Intesa Sanpaolo signed an agreement with all the trade unions aimed at strengthening the role of training as a pillar of the bank of the future and a priority tool to ensure engagement and responsibility pacts with the Group's people in order to increase their satisfaction, promoting skills development, employability and professional growth;
• The training plan is defined annually, implemented and monitored through the involvement of the competent company structures. This illustrates the training courses planned for the Parent Company, specifies which will also be extended to subsidiaries, and is divided into: 
  • compliance talks, aimed at Chiefs, division managers and executive directors, aimed at training on strategic and innovative topics through content consistent with the responsibilities and areas of action of these roles; 
  • training programmes for all other managers and professional figures, divided into initiatives of a transversal and/or specific nature depending on the role performed, the activities supervised or precise regulatory provisions; 
  • interventions of the parent company training plan envisaged by the subsidiaries in their training plan, indicated with Group value and integrated with the initiatives defined and implemented independently on the basis of local and/or sectoral regulations as well as the related business needs.

• ·     The involvement of managers and executives in targeted training courses (including Coaching, Shadow Coaching, Distance Tutoring, Digital Talks on leadership issues and future scenarios and mandatory Compliance Talks training) continued to face the challenges of a constantly evolving environment and broaden managerial awareness and strengthen leadership skills (over 6,100 Managers, 1,950 Operational Activities Coordinators  and about 200 Talents involved).

• The training activities also aim to support the dissemination of the culture of sustainability, not only by transmitting notions and knowledge in the ESG field, but by ensuring that they are transformed for the people of the Group into the skills necessary to play the role of "agents of change", contributing to the implementation of corporate strategies aimed at generating economic value together, social and environmental issues.
• The Intesa Sanpaolo Group, in fact, aims to ensure that by 2025 all the Group's people have received training in the ESG field. The topics covered through ESG training, with particular reference to environmental and social issues, in 2024, covered topics such as the EU Taxonomy and a new collection of mandatory training modules on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) was published. In addition, a mandatory training course has been provided for all employees to strengthen knowledge and implementation of the principles and values enshrined in the Code of Ethics, a fundamental governance tool.
• With particular reference to the protection and respect of human rights, a series of mandatory training modules on Modern Slavery have been created, with the aim of disseminating knowledge relating to the responsibility of companies in preventing modern slavery within their operations and supply chains, also responding to external regulatory requirements (e.g.  UK Modern Slavery Act, Australian Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act). A compliance talk was organised for the Chief and Executive Directors on "Code of Ethics, combating Modern Slavery and sexual harassment: Intesa Sanpaolo's approach".
• Overall, in 2024, ESG training accounted for about 10% of total training; approximately 88,712 Group people have benefited from more than 1.4 million hours of ESG training.
• The initiatives on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion continued in continuity with what had been achieved in previous years, such as the initiatives dedicated to female empowerment, parenting and the dissemination of the culture of aging. To these have been added other initiatives dedicated to the themes of interculturality, inclusive leadership, disability and inclusive language.
• During 2024, 31 Digital Talks were delivered with testimonies from subject matter experts on various topics, including the circular economy and organizational well-being.

As part of the Talent Management strategy, the "Leader of the Future" programme is being developed, aimed at all people in the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, both in Italy and abroad, and which is also one of the objectives of the 2022-2025 Business Plan.

The program consists of two project initiatives:

• International Talent Program: is one of the most important initiatives for the enhancement of talent at Group level, which aims to develop a new generation of managers and professional roles with a transversal and international culture through personalized courses lasting approximately three years. A mentorship and tutorship program is dedicated to talents that involves Senior Managers and Managers of the structures that host talents;
• Key People: this is the second pillar of the Group's innovative talent strategy, which aims to identify and develop the Leaders of the Future. It represents a path of excellence for selected members of the Group's middle management, with the aim of enhancing professional and managerial growth, as well as guiding towards future leadership roles in more complex managerial contexts.

The key objectives of the "Leaders of the Future" programme are:

• enhancement of human capital: recognizing and promoting existing talents within the organization, promoting their professional growth and development;
• strategic management of internal professional growth: ensuring that the Group has constant access to the best resources, thus reducing the use of external recruiting to fill critical roles;
• generational renewal: ensuring the constant rejuvenation of the talent pool, allowing the Group to maintain a balance between experience and new perspectives.

The target value of people involved in the Future Leader program is about 1,000 colleagues over the 2022-2025 Business Plan period, selected both in Italy and abroad. The indicator includes both program populations: International Talent Program and Key People.

For the International Talent Program, the number that is reported represents the people belonging to the talent community on the date of the report and includes both the talents who are carrying out the development path and those who have completed it.

As regards the Key People program, on the other hand, the perimeter of the population has been defined for the entire 2022-2025 Business Plan and is therefore stable.

From the launch of the "Leader of the Future" Program to the end of 2024, a total of 975 people have been involved in talent management and development activities, through participation in the two programs "Talent Program" and "Key People".

Details relating to further initiatives are available at the following link.