In the summer of 2022, Ervin Torres was a Business and Economics major at Santa Monica College, struggling to make ends meet and support his family. During a Job Fair, one of his professors told him about JVS SoCal’s BankWork$ program, which immediately lit a flame inside of Ervin.
“I went online to the JVS SoCal website, noticed they were talking about BankWork$. That’s more like what I wanted to do as I applied to college as an Economics major,” said Torres. “It gave me a good opportunity as I was working at the time in sales as a manager at a warehouse. I could use those skills to enter a career in banking.”
BankWork$ is an eight-week intensive career training program that offers skills training, job placement assistance as well as ongoing coaching for career advancement in the retail banking and financial services industry.
For Torres, BankWork$ was a godsend. When he entered the program in June of 2022, he was nervous and didn’t feel confident. His trainer, Julian Hampton, worked with him to enhance his sales and customer service skills that he had acquired while working in audio/video retailing.
By the end of the program, he was more than ready.
At graduation, Ervin interviewed with five different banks, one of the key features of the BankWork$ program. He and the representative from Pacific Western Bank, one of our program’s employer partners and generous sponsors, immediately clicked.
“At graduation we went into the meeting room with them and they were so keen on the way that I talked. We felt like there was a connection between us. They were focused on trying to pitch new incoming bankers as well as helping out with the community. And that was what I wanted to do as well,” Ervin remembers.
As a BankWork$ graduate, Ervin stood out and immediately put the tools acquired during the course to use. Since he started at Pacific Western Bank, he has been recognized five times as an outstanding employee.
“Once I was hired by Pacific Western Bank, it was straight on to use those skills from BankWork$. I just put myself out there, to be more communicative,” explains Ervin. “At the end of my first year, I had earned four Employee of the Month (awards), and one Employee of the Quarter. I was helping different clients during the bank run of 2023 and trying to get them to be safe, so that they can trust this bank, and that they can trust me.”
Ervin shared how the BankWork$ program is highly regarded at Pacific Western Bank by managers, who set the bar high for graduates. Other former program clients have stepped up to higher positions, such as Bank Operations and Bank Administration.
“They knew the expectations they had for me. I told them that I had more aspirations, that I wanted to excel,” adds Ervin. “At my branch, we hired another teller, he did not have that same opportunity to be at BankWork$. I gave her the rundown of what I remembered in many of the sessions, and it helped her.”
Recently, Ervin enrolled in a four-year university to continue his Business and Economics major, working with his employer to adjust his schedule to be able to achieve his bachelor’s degree. He’s also getting ready for Pacific West’s merger with Banc of California.
“I know many of my managers and the whole team, they were rooting for me to find a schedule for myself to work in between banking as well as my education. I found enough time to pursue more in economics and financial economics,” said Ervin. “I have to be prepared every day, and I got half the knowledge I needed from BankWork$. It really helped me out.”
If Ervin’s success story has inspired you, please consider donating today.