“What forms of training do you provide new associates?”

Kleinwort Capital has a program that comprises technical, regulatory and personal skills training and development. Initially we focus new recruits on achieving FSA threshold competency, the specifics of which are dependent on the prior qualifications of the recruit. Through a mixture of involvement in deals and formal training, the technical skills are developed to build financial models, analyze accounting information as well as structure and interpret legal documents. All recruits go through all the BVCA training courses from the Foundation course, through Legal and Negotiation to Portfolio Management and NXD training.

Kleinwort Capital has a business wide program for regularly reviewing training needs and putting in place personal skills training (eg presentations, negotiation, media interviews) for everyone.

Personal development should also be fun, so interspersed with the more formal courses have been sessions of circus skills, samba drum playing, sheep dog trials and poetry writing. This combination of training and development enhances our effectiveness as a team working together, whether we are meeting management teams, co-ordinating deal completions or enjoying marketing to the adviser community throughout the UK.

Training for incoming associates comes early and often at Silver Lake Partners.

Shortly after joining the firm, new associates attend our annual ?all-hands summer off-site when the entire Silver Lake team – including investment and administrative professionals at all levels – gets together in New York or California, in alternating years. This meeting is a comprehensive introduction to Silver Lake and its culture. New associates are immersed in a full range of big-picture topics including macroeconomic outlook, investment strategy, and advisor relationships. The off-site includes social events and some light-hearted presentations about the firm and its people, to help new associates get to know their new colleagues.

Soon thereafter, an all-day associate training session drills down into the basics of our work by covering LBO modeling, due diligence best practices, fund structure and other core topics. Again, the day culminates in a social gathering that our senior investment professionals also attend.

Silver Lake also has an ongoing ?seminar on a slide program – we regularly invite outside experts and internal professionals to lead discussions and tutorials on topics ranging from key technology trends to finance and accounting.

Most importantly, associates learn by working closely alongside Silver Lake's more senior investment professionals. Training is aimed at giving associates the foundation they need to make significant contributions right from the start.

Effective recruitment ensures that new associates and relatively junior members of staff arrive ready armed with a strong theoretical and technical grounding in technology merchant banking.

By definition these high potential recruits lack the experience and/or confidence to deal directly with clients, especially in the style of Interregnum.

Their learning needs are therefore twofold: understanding our culture and then enjoying accelerated opportunities to move from theory to practice. Accordingly, early on we provide classroom induction sessions which concentrate on our history, brand and the peculiarities of life in and around Interregnum. Real client work, performed under the supervision of more experienced colleagues then follows in short order. The result? A committed and energetic team who hit the ground running.