At PwC’s Academy, pedagogy and expertise join their forces

PwC’s Academy: developing the knowledge, skills, competences and expertise of people, helping organisations grow and retain their talents

As the only recognised teaching organisation of the Big Four in Luxembourg, PwC’s Academy could already be described as unique in its kind. But it is indeed the dual approach of combining pedagogic expertise and technical / business expertise that makes PwC’s Academy so powerful.

Being strongly aligned with the PwC expertise and therefore offering excellence throughout the curriculum, PwC’s Academy provides organisations across sectors and geographies with premium learning experiences. As stated by Denis Graas: “The objective is to work hand in hand with all of our experts in order to maximise volumes, efficiency and value for money for our clients.”

Denis Graas is in charge of the commercial animation at PwC’s Academy and, together with Bénédicte Berhin and Etienne Hirsch, develops the Academy’s training offering. This includes identifying client needs (conscious and unconscious ones) and observing market trends. This is a critical piece of work and in order to offer the adequate pedagogic solutions to clients, the critical success factor is to always remain client centric. This is ensured by asking the right question, such as: Why is there a training need and for which audience, what is the objective and how can such a need be addressed?

Then come the experts. Being at the very heart of the PwC’s Academy’s mission, the team of experts convey their knowledge and know-how, gained with leading organisations around the world. Frédéric Vonner is one of these experts, leading the sustainability and sustainable finance practice.

What role does ESG play for PwC’s Academy?

The future is bright for ESG. It is a transformative topic, not only for the financial sector but also for the entire economy. Looking at the rapidly evolving EU and Luxembourg regulatory frameworks, this transformation is likely to accelerate further.

PwC has shown a best in class expertise on ESG for many years on the Luxembourg market. Being the showcase of the firm's expertise, the objective of PwC’s Academy is to guide clients

by explaining the changes, dissolving any confusion between the truth and the myths, and by showing how such a significant challenge like ESG can become a major business opportunity.

“We bring the outer world's needs and knowledge into the Academy.” - Frédéric Vonner

It was therefore just a matter of time until a comprehensive ESG and sustainable training curriculum was developed at PwC’s Academy. The first training building block around ESG was launched in 2018, followed by an attractive e-learning on Sustainable Finance in 2020. In addition, training modules were developed to support the learning challenges introduced by ESG for the Luxembourg financial centre. This important initiative is led by Denis Graas from a pedagogical side, while Frédéric Vonner represents the expertise / business side.

“Bringing in the right expertise and especially hands-on, practical experiences in the design and the delivery of the training helps to stay close to market trends and the clients’ expectations, while also providing the participants with the sufficient knowledge to return to their companies, and start applying in practice what was discussed during the training sessions. And this is especially true for ESG, where a number of questions remain open”, as stated by Frédéric Vonner.

For this purpose, the curriculum on ESG contains client centric ad-hoc training solutions, including sound and modern value propositions around the different ESG related themes such as risk management, evolving regulatory framework, regulatory reporting, data gathering & management, taxonomy and is constantly evolving. Stay tuned by keeping an eye on the Academy’s weekly newsletter, LinkedIn posts or directly through the website of PwC’s Academy!

“First, the Academy is the showcase of the firm's expertise. Second, our conviction is that there is no “one solution fits all.” - Dennis Graas

Now, who can profit from PwC’s Academy? The answer is simple: corporate clients, whatever the knowledge level!

Based on an audience-adapted approach, the key priority of PwC’s Academy is to offer the right pedagogic solution to the different audiences as, since their needs differ, they cannot be serviced in the same manner. In order to develop valuable learnings, the curriculum can’t rely on an “one solution fits all” approach. The value proposition covers thus the entire spectrum from generalists to specialists (Knowledge & Competence), and ultimately to executives level (Fit & Proper).

An adequate pedagogic solution takes into account the following dimensions:

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As the training activity results from the ongoing interactions with clients, the value proposition is designed to easily be adapted to specific client needs. This approach is of high interest to clients for all the audience types including the C-levels, Executives and Board members. Trainings are proposed in the form of classroom type or live webinar, as well as e-learnings. In addition, inter-company trainings (open training courses) are available through the website and open to individual registrations.

Another benefit for participants lies in the structure of the Academy. As PwC’s Academy has its own legal identity (PwC Academy sàrl) and is formally registered as a teaching organisation, corporate clients are eligible for state subsidies through the INFPC (Institut National pour le Développement de la Formation Professionnelle Continue).

Interested? Find out more about how the PwC's Academy has the right learning designed for you!