University students are astronomically important to the future of nations. Countries that have fully embraced that reality have unlocked so much value. Two weeks ago I was on Capitalk FM being interviewed about matters regarding entrepreneurship, business, and hustling. One of the questions I was asked pertained to the role academic young people can play in national development. I highlighted how it saddens me that most local young people work on their final year projects with one thing in mind – to complete their degrees. Yet those final year projects hold a hidden power to become the next big startups. Bottom line is, university students are undeniably important.
Initiatives To Support Them Are Most Welcome
These students need to be supported in any way possible. Before we even get to the final year projects, there is the internship or attachment phase. That phase is extremely important because it gives students a feel of the real world working arena. Unfortunately, many students struggle to get places of attachment that are related to their field of study. Thus you find someone pursuing marketing ending up being attached as a till operator. Ultimately this experience does not quite cultivate the necessary industrial feel that they ought to get.
That results in most employers complaining about half-baked or incompetent university graduates. This gives rise to a scenario where college-taught students tend to have more practical know-how than them. This can all be rectified if universities are given adequate and comprehensive support. Especially since last year internship has been hard to come by due to lockdown restrictions.
That is exacerbated by the fact that the Zimbabwean economy is already predominantly informal. Couple that with the more than 30000 university graduates every year and you can see we have a huge problem on our hands. This is why when we come across support initiatives earmarked for university students we gladly publicize them.
Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe Virtual Internship Program
On the 12th of February 2021, the bank tweeted the following, “This year Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe will enable a 6-month virtual internship program for individuals currently studying towards a degree. Interested, qualified individuals are invited to apply using the following link:” [Click Here]
The tweet went on to detail the internship program as follows:
Job Details
We are looking for candidates who are currently completing their tertiary education and are interested in gaining experience in any of the following disciplines within the bank:
- Retails Banking
- Corporate and Investment Banking
- Risk Management
- Operations
- Information Technology (IT)
- Finance
- Marketing
Preferred Qualifications and Experience
- Zimbabwean Citizen
- Currently studying towards the completion of the relevant degree
- Applicants will be required to undergo a series of assessments as part of their selection
How To Apply
To apply please submit your CV and confirmation of registration as a student at a Zimbabwean Institution on our online portal.
Applications close on 6 April 2021
Overall, the internship programme offers opportunities to students in study areas such as Banking and Finance, Investment Management, International Finance, Accounting, Real Estate, Management Economics, Risk Management and Insurance, Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Analytics, Data Sciences, Marketing, Records and Archives Management and Bachelor of Laws.
The Internship Has Been Around For A While…
This initiative has been running for at least 5 years now. In 2019 Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe did a press release where they indicated that 20 university students were to benefit during the 2019-2020 cycle of Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe’s exclusive internship programme. This was an increase in the number of beneficiaries since during the previous cycle (i.e. 2018-2019) only 10 students had benefited. Essentially the initiative is strategically structured to prepare budding young professionals for the workplace after university.
Remember the deadline for submission of applications is the 6th of April. So kindly take up the opportunity or share it with someone who might find it useful. There is still more than a whole month till the deadline so let us spread the word.
