This continues Santander’s commitment to developing young people within the business having last year rolled out its Apprenticeship programme across the UK. The 2014 scheme will be taking on people for full-time roles in Santander’s manufacturing, retail and telephone distribution divisions.
In tandem with this, Santander is connecting 1,500 students and small businesses through its Santander Universities internship scheme, and is further demonstrating its commitment to young people and students with its two-year programme of support for the National Association of College University Entrepreneurs (NACUE).
The bank’s Apprenticeships are aimed at people aged 16+ who have at least two GCSE (or equivalent) grades A - C in both English and Maths. Successful applicants will join as permanent employees and will study for vocational qualifications in either Providing Financial Services or Customer Service – the equivalent of achieving five GCSEs.
Marcus Lee, Head of Resourcing at Santander, said: “Nurturing young people, innovation and expertise is key for our future as a business but also for the UK’s economic growth. An important part of this is helping young people make informed decisions about their education and training, and apprenticeships are a fantastic way of doing this.
“Following a highly successful intake in 2013 we are delighted to continue our Apprenticeship programme nationally for a second year. These roles provide invaluable professional development and the benefit of a nationally recognised qualification along with the certainty offered by a full time and permanent role. The Apprenticeship programme is a great way to get into the banking sector and can be the first step to a long-term career with a successful global company.”
The Santander Apprenticeship programme is just one of the routes into a banking career as the company recognises that people follow different employment paths. To ensure that Santander can attract talented candidates from all these paths, the bank has a range of development programmes, including for graduates, school leavers and people who are already working but looking to switch career.
Santander is working with specialist providers Intraining and Skills Solutions who work with Santander apprentices to help develop their experience, skills and knowledge, benchmarked at a national level within the financial services sector.
Melanie Jones, from Santander’s Bootle office, was recruited as one of Santander’s 2012 apprentices in its business banking division and recently completed her Apprenticeship with the bank. Commenting on her experience as a Santander apprentice, Melanie said: “Since completing the Apprenticeship I have gained so much experience and grown in confidence and ability. We couldn’t have asked for better tutors, who provide brilliant training sessions and were always friendly and approachable.
“I would definitely recommend working at Santander. It is a great way to start your career and I can only see Apprenticeships becoming more popular in future.”
Anyone interested in the Santander Apprenticeship programme can find out more and complete an online application by visiting: www.santanderjobs.co.uk/apprenticeships.