From 1 to 11 October, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg held the first edition of the training programme ‘Introduction to the Luxembourg financial market’, with the aim of providing participants with the necessary skills to work in the financial sector of the Grand Duchy.

During the two-week course, participants were able to deepen their understanding of the fundamental principles of finance, expanding their previous knowledge as graduates in economics, finance, business administration, political science or law with a specialisation in economics.

The main added value of the programme lies in the emphasis it places on adapting these contents to the framework of the Luxembourg industry. To this end, the Chamber put together an agenda of master classes given by professional experts from renowned companies in the sector, such as Anidris Academy, Bank Julius Baer, Caceis, CMS Luxembourg, Deloitte Luxembourg, DLA Piper Luxembourg, EY Luxembourg, Luxembourg for Finance, PwC Luxembourg and The LHoFT.

A comprehensive programme

The first session of the programme took place on 1 October at the premises of EY Luxembourg, with Viktoria Mohr, Manager; Irene Santamaría Oliveira, Audit Senior Manager, and Marta Pardo, Manager in Valuation Assurance, who spoke about types of investment funds. In the afternoon, the day ended with a networking cocktail, coinciding with the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Spanish Financial Forum.

The next module, on financial audit, was taught on 2 October by Álvaro Gómez Herranz, Audit Senior Manager, and Manel Lluis Celma, Senior Manager, at PwC Luxembourg.

On Thursday 3 October, the students travelled to Deloitte Luxembourg for a masterclass on the investment funds market. The trainers were Markus Schwamborn, Director of Advisory & Consulting, and Amalia Tejero Díez, Consultant.

The first week of the training ended with the Exponential Spain 2024 event, where, in collaboration with The LHoFT, the Chamber organised a series of presentations on the leading innovative companies in the financial technology (Fintech) sector.

First class trainers

The course resumed on 7 October with a visit to the premises of Luxembourg for Finance. Secretary General Lynn Robbroeckx spoke to participants about the competitiveness of European financial services and the past and future of Luxembourg’s financial centre.

That same afternoon, they also attended a presentation on private banking and wealth management by Jordi Catala Contreras, Executive Director for Wealth Management at Bank Julius Baer.

During the afternoon of 8 October, Javier Costales and Regis Radde-Galera, coaches from Anidris Academy, advised the students on issues such as the development of skills in the professional environment or how to network in Luxembourg.

On Wednesday 9 October, the programme focused on the subject of securitisation, with a monographic session at the CMS Luxembourg headquarters given by Alejandro Domínguez Becerra, Senior Counsel, and Juan Ocaña Castilla, Senior Associate.

Back at the PwC Luxembourg offices on 10 October, there was a morning session on international taxation by Senior Manager Celia Martinez Cabrera, and an afternoon session oncompliance requirements with three other trainers: Robin Bernard, Director; Maxime Blanchard, Manager, and Vojtech Volf, Senior Manager.

The programme closed on 11 October with a masterclass on corporate governance with Clément Bourdon, Senior Associate at DLA Piper, in the morning and a final session on anti-money laundering fundamentals with Mykyta Bielakov, Director at PwC Luxembourg.

You can consult the full training programme of the first edition at the following link.

First work experience in Luxembourg

After the training course, and after having passed the corresponding selection processes, the young graduates will have a six-month paid contract in one of the collaborating companies of the programme, so that they can put into practice what they have learnt during the course and have a first work experience in the sector.

At the end of the first edition, and due to the high degree of satisfaction of both the participants and the collaborating companies, the Chamber is preparing to take the first steps towards the organisation of a second edition of the programme in 2025. More information coming soon.