On Friday 13th November, Esther attended the Santander Internship Programme Celebration where approximately 11 interns from the Programme received their official certificate of recognition for completing the 3 month internship earlier this year.
The event which celebrated and explored the success of the Santander Internship Programme, was hosted by the University of Huddersfield Careers and Employability Service at the University of Huddersfield. The event was attended by representatives from Santander, the University and some of the employers who had taken on an intern through the programme as well as the interns themselves.
Our Esther was one of the three Huddersfield based interns, who were asked to present and share their internship experience at the event.
Katrina Cliffe and Grace Lenihan from KC Communications were first to share their experience of the Internship with the room and it was encouraging to hear how someone else had a similar success story to us where both the Intern and employer benefited so well from the Programme. So much so that Katrina chose to keep Grace on for a year placement (in addition to the Internship).
Esther was up next to present and dove-tailed what the ladies from KC Communications said:
“I learnt so much from Janet Bebb over the 3 month Internship, including how to use social media specifically for business. We’ve been to various networking events, I’ve met (and got to know) lots of new people, I’ve presented to local business people and much, much more! I absolutely love my job (and working with Janet). I wouldn’t be at Social Progress had it not been for the Santander Internship Programme!” – Esther Orridge
Esther had the opportunity to show a Power Point presentation at the event when she presented to the room. With 5 minutes to play with she decided to simply show a collection of relevant photos of Team SoPro. Janet was on her jolly holiday to New York so she couldn’t attend the Celebration. However, Esther made sure Janet was honoured and included lots of SoPro photos showing what they get up to (yes, it included some cake!)
One of the main things which Esther made a point of saying was that “a degree is not enough! Experience is invaluable and I would urge all students and graduates to do an internship or placement to get the vital experience needed in the real world of work.”
Photo by KC Communications
With 2 placements under her belt Esther knows first-hand how beneficial a placement year or internship can be – especially as a student! “Your mind-set completely changes when you’ve been working in the real-world and amongst professionals within the industry. You can’t ever be prepared in a classroom – you have to jump in and be part of a real team, doing real work and interacting with real people!”
There was another Intern who introduced and then showed his vlog about his 10 week placement, more talks from the University Reps and also someone from Santander who explored the success of this initial programme and explained the future developments too.
All Interns were presented with a certificate to acknowledge their completion of the Santander Internship Programme, followed by lots of photos!
Although Janet wasn’t able to attend and Esther had to go solo, the event was good because it showed how the Programme works and that both employers and Interns felt a massive benefit all because of the Programme through Santander! The partnership and support from the University of Huddersfield has also played a major part in the success of the Programme.
Su Maynard from the Careers and Employability Service has been the go-to person throughout the Internship and she’s been amazing! Everything was straight-forward from start to finish and she’s still in touch and ever helpful even though the Internship finished months ago. If you’re interested in finding out more, Su is the lady you need to speak to.
About the Internship Programme
As mentioned in a previous blog, Janet and Esther used the 3 months as a “probation period” to see whether Janet felt that Esther was the correct candidate for the role and to see whether Esther liked and suited the role.
“The Internship Programme took the financial sting out of taking on a new member of staff. You pay the intern (at least) minimum wage for the 12 week internship. Then, if the intern completes the 3 months, Santander pay £1,500 to the business for taking on the intern. This made it possible for us to take Esther on board.” – Janet Bebb, Social Progress
We’re very happy to say that Esther is still with us today. This wouldn’t be possible without the Santander Internship Programme and the help of Su Maynard at The University of Huddersfield Careers and Employability Service. Su made the whole process stress-free from start to finish!
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