This week saw Santander open its Middlesbrough office to students from Prior Pursglove College, Guisborough as part of its summer work experience programme.
The students have joined the bank on a six-week paid work placement which is designed to help improve their employment prospects. The placements are part of the bank’s national support for educational charity Career Ready. Career Ready prepares students for the world of work via structured career academies incorporating a programme of mentoring, workplace visits, internships and master classes.
The Prior Pursglove College, Guisborough students are among 60 sixth form students from ten locations across the UK who are undertaking roles within Santander’s major sites this summer.
The placements support Career Ready’s ‘140 hours’ campaign which calls on employers to offer paid internships of at least four weeks (140 hours) in a bid to boost social mobility, bridge the skills gap and develop a talent pipeline. Career Ready deems 140 hours in the workplace as the time needed to allow a young person to work as part of a team, complete a project and develop confidence in the workplace.
Wendy Glaister, Branch Director at Santander's Middlesbrough Branch, said: “At Santander our purpose is to help people and businesses prosper. By working in partnership with organisations such as Career Ready we can ensure all young people have the opportunity to realise their potential. The internship programme is integral to our aim, providing quality internship placements for Career Ready students and giving young people the opportunity to develop their employability skills, gain invaluable insight into the industry and broaden their horizons, whatever career path they choose to take. By the same token, as an organisation, we meet fresh, new, forward-thinking and innovative talent.”
Thomas Taylor, a student from Prior Pursglove College, Guisborough said: “I didn’t know what to expect however, I have found the experience very exciting. The tasks were initially challenging but I had lots of support from the team and now feel much more confident in my ability. I would definitely recommend this experience to my friends”.
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Notes to Editors:
Media Contact
Leonora Burtenshaw T: 0207 756 4543 M: 077 0100 4107
E: leonora.burtenshaw@santander.co.uk
The press office operates from 8.00am to 6.00pm. Outside of these hours please call 0800 5877708.
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 31 December 2016, the bank serves around 14 million active customers with c20,000 employees and operates through 841 branches (which includes 60 university branches) and 67 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.