Pictured (Left to Right) at South Shore Bank headquarters to celebrate the new credit analyst apprenticeship program are Massachusetts Bankers Association President and CEO Kathleen Murphy, Massachusetts Labor and Workforce Secretary Rosalin Acosta, and South Shore Bank CEO James Dunphy.

A yearlong apprenticeship program designed to increase diversity in banking has launched in Massachusetts with several local banks participating.

The apprenticeship program for credit analysts was created through a partnership between the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Massachusetts Bankers Association. The program, which was registered by the Massachusetts Division of Apprentice Standards, is the first-of-its-kind nationally recognized apprenticeship program for credit analysts, according to a statement from South Shore Bank, one of the participants in the program.

The program launched in October with a diverse group of 16 apprentices, eight men and eight women, from South Shore Bank, BankGloucester, BayCoast Bank, Centreville Bank, Reading Cooperative Bank, Rockland Trust, The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, Unibank and Westfield Bank. The program runs until October 2022.

“As someone who spent 30 years in the financial and banking service industry prior to my life in public service, I am truly excited by the potential of this new apprenticeship program,” Labor and Workforce Secretary Rosalin Acosta said in the statement. “Banks across the Commonwealth need credit analysts, and this apprenticeship presents a sound career pathway in commercial lending for those interested in learning new skills and earning a living at the same time.”

The credit analyst apprenticeship is designed to address skills gaps; provide banks with the opportunity to build a diverse, qualified workforce, especially for women and people of color; and increase industry retention, the statement said.

Apprentices will have 150 hours of technical instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training with a mentor at each bank. Jeffrey Johnson, a senior consultant at Bankers Insight Group in Atlanta, is leading the technical education component.

“The Massachusetts Bankers Association is thrilled to have been selected to highlight the banking industry’s Credit Analyst Apprenticeship, launched this year after several years of planning, and believed to be the first of its kind in the nation,” Kathleen Murphy, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, said in the statement. “Through this registered apprenticeship program, we can help our membership attract diverse talent from their communities to a rewarding career in banking.”

South Shore Bank recently celebrated the program’s launch with an event at its South Weymouth headquarters, including attendees from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Massachusetts Bankers Association.

“I am thrilled that the Credit Analyst Apprenticeship has launched,” said James Dunphy, CEO South Shore Bank. “This program is something I supported and got behind from its inception. In fact, three members of the first cohort are employed at South Shore Bank. I look forward to seeing programs like this grow for the benefit of our industry and our communities.”

Jane Bowman, chief marketing officer for South Shore Bank, said in the statement that the bank became involved in the program because a career in banking “leads to innumerable opportunities. Helping to create a pipeline of talent for the financial services industry while promoting workers from within underserved communities is good for the industry.”