Corporate & Commercial Banking Apprentice Review
at Santander
Higher Level Apprenticeship
Finance
London
Review Submitted: April 2021
Overall Rating
3.8 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
3/5
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Overview of Role
4/5
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Skills Development
3.8/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
3/5
I am a corporate & commercial banking apprentice at Santander which is a three year programme. This involves a series of rotations in different areas across the bank. My current role involves managing projects and liaising with the sales team to help them complete tasks for customers. This is good as it has enabled me to increase my project management and presentation skills.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
I do enjoy my programme with many networking initiatives being organised by HR to meet new graduates/apprentices. This creates a very social atmosphere to meet new colleagues. The rotations are also good as they allow you to gain a full perspective of the banking industry and increase your knowledge to take into a permanent position.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
I have learnt how to improve my project management and presentation skills. This is through supporting and also managing projects for the team. I have also developed on my PowerPoint and excel skills which were very basic before I started in the team. This has allowed me to boost my confidence when completing tasks for colleagues.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
The programme is very well structured for our rotations so that we can gain experience from the core areas of banking e.g. front office, operations and credit risk. This enables us to become well rounded banking employees. The only negative is I think there needs to be more structure of what will be completed in the rotation itself.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
I receive a lot of support from Santander e.g. office equipment sent to us to work from home during the pandemic, recommendations for future rotations and colleagues who can help us with this. There is also lots of networking and training initiatives in order to help me develop in the bank.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
4/5
I receive support from my provider in terms of my coach always willing to answer questions I have and help with feedback for my assignments. He also helps with recommending me some topics I could include in my assignment to help me meet the standard. This allows me to understand where I need to improve so I can gain my qualifications.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
2/5
I feel that some of the qualifications and training webinars helps me to have higher levels of knowledge for my role to perform better. However the webinars and qualifications could be better tailored to roles within the bank so that it is easier to transfer these skills across into different roles.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
Yes when we was in the office there was some football and social events which I attended and these were good. Whilst working from home there has been lots of quizzes and social events which has enabled us to meet new graduates/apprentices and also other colleagues from around the bank.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Santander to a friend?
Yes
Why?
It has a very good culture with no question is a stupid one which allows new joiners like myself to feel comfortable in speaking up and contributing even when our knowledge may be lower than experienced colleagues. It also has a great social atmosphere which allows us to meet new colleagues and enjoy coming to work.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Santander?
I would say to try and not get too nervous in the application process and to take each stage as it comes. There was lots of time given to us to prepare for each stage so it is good to utilise this time as best as you can. Also make sure to take lots of notes to remember key details during each stage.
