Many young people harbour ambitions to go into professional sport, but as most find out, natural talent alone isn’t enough. Figures from Europe’s top leagues suggest that less than one per cent of all children who enter a football academy at the age of nine will achieve their dream of becoming a professional player – with one talent scout even suggesting that children are ‘more likely to be hit by a meteorite’ than succeed as professionals. Opportunities, good health, contacts, and support – as well as a sizeable portion of luck – all play a role.

That’s why it was so important for Noe and his parents that he obtains a sound education so that he can pursue a career if his sporting ambitions don’t work out. The 19-year-old, who signed a professional contract with Swiss Super League team FC Winterthur in February, has spent the last four years as a commercial apprentice, the last two of which doing his practical training at Julius Baer.

“I’ve been passionate about football since I was a young boy and I always knew I wanted to become a pro,” says Noe. He joined FC Winterthur’s under-9 team after being spotted by a scout playing for his village club against older opponents. “When it came to deciding which career path to take, I had to find something that was compatible with sport.”

After his compulsory schooling, he and his parents opted for the United School of Sports (USS), a vocational school for sporting talents in Switzerland. The school offers talented young sportsmen and women a four-year commercial apprenticeship programme during which they combine classroom learning and on-the-job training with their fledgling careers in professional sport. “There are 15 students in my class, pursuing careers in 11 different sports – everything from football, handball and swimming to gymnastics and BMX.”

The students focus on their school studies in the first two years of the course, before starting a two-year vocational apprenticeship in a company. Noe chose to do an apprenticeship with Julius Baer. “When I was younger, I used to see bankers walking around in the city centre and I was impressed by their shiny suits! I did a ‘taster’ apprenticeship in different industries, and banking was the one I enjoyed the most.”

Developing next-generation talent

Julius Baer’s Head of Apprentices, Benjamin, explains that the partnership with the USS came about seven years ago in part due to his own passion for sport. “I was involved in football before my career at the bank and I heard from my contacts about the difficulties involved in bringing through young sporting talent in Switzerland.”

Benjamin saw this as a good opportunity for Julius Baer to support young talent locally. He feels that this fits well within Julius Baer’s prestigious apprenticeship programme and the bank’s purpose to create value beyond wealth. “By supporting the next generation in this way, we’re opening up new pathways for young talents and helping them make their dreams come true.”

Thanks to this collaboration, two students from the USS join Julius Baer each year as part of our annual intake of apprentices. They receive on-the-job training in various departments and functions across the company to complement their classroom work and successfully pass the final exam as banking professionals. The USS apprentices, for example, complete four rotations during their two years with Julius Baer, changing teams every six months.

Keeping lots of balls in the air

For a teenager like Noe, combining his classroom studies, on-the-job training, and the demands of a sporting career is a lot to fit in. The end of this year’s Swiss Super League football season, with his club fighting relegation, coincided with his final exams for the Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training. “Sometimes it can get quite intense, but I’ve never known anything else,” he says. “I’ve been juggling training with school since I was 12 years old. When I played at youth club level, we used to train eight times a week!”

He receives a training plan each week from FC Winterthur and discusses it with his manager at Julius Baer. “Each week is different. Towards the end of the season, we had matches on Thursdays and Mondays.” This requires a great deal of forward planning and flexibility by all concerned. “The departments where the sports apprentices complete their rotations are briefed in advance,” explains Benjamin. “We discuss the fact that flexibility is required due to the training schedules and that apprentices might have to come a bit later or leave a bit earlier.”

Noe is helped by the fact that both his line manager and the Head of the Employee Banking team where he now works are football fans. He says the whole team have been following his progress: “I’ve really enjoyed my time in Employee Banking. They’ve been extremely supportive of me, answering my questions and stepping in when needed. They’re fully behind me and they keep an eye on my team’s results.”

Noe also praises the sense of team spirit among the apprentices. “We spent a week together in a summer camp when we first joined Julius Baer, which really helped us to bond.” Benjamin says this community approach is something valued by apprentices and parents alike: “Parents like the fact that their offspring aren’t left stranded in the middle of a large organisation. We provide the apprentices with many contacts and they know exactly who they can turn to when they need support.”

First exciting career goal already met

In his first few months as a pro, Noe has made eight appearances for FC Winterthur. A central midfielder, he made a key contribution to his team’s survival in Switzerland’s top flight by scoring the match-winning goal against St Gallen – a feat which saw him named Switzerland’s ‘Player of the Week’. “That was undoubtedly the highlight of my career so far. The match was played in our home stadium and the crowd went wild!”

Noe appeared for the Swiss national team at under-15 and under-16 level before suffering a bad injury – the one major setback in his sporting career so far. With this in mind, perhaps, he says that while he’d love to play for the national team and one day play abroad, for the moment he’s happy focusing on the here and now. “It’s written in the stars. I’ve only started out as a pro. My ambition is just to make sure I can turn my passion into a successful career.”

With FC Winterthur’s place in the top-tier Swiss league secure for another season, he’s looking forward to completing his apprenticeship and holding his diploma certificate in his hand this summer. What advice would he give others who’re thinking of following in his footsteps? “Work hard to develop your skills and don’t overthink things! I’ve had spells where I was thinking too much but everything tends to work out well as long as you commit fully to what you’re doing.”

And what about life at Julius Baer? Can we look forward to cheering on ‘one of our own’ next season, too? Noe says he will continue working part-time in the Employee Banking team after his apprenticeship ends. “I still have one or two days a week off from football and I want to invest that time in my education. I hope my career goes on for a long time and that I can eventually live from it, but it’s important for me to get more experience of the ‘normal’ working world first.”

To borrow a footballer’s oft-used phrase, it seems that for now, with Julius Baer’s support, Noe is happy to take one match at a time. We wish him every success in the future – both on and off the pitch.