Many of us will always remember our first steps into the world of work: the desire to learn, the excitement of seeing what it will be like, the enthusiasm of starting out. More than 750 young people have chosen Santander to take their first steps in their careers as interns. We know it’s an important step and we value their efforts, because we know they are the key to a stronger and better-prepared company. 
 

Every year, millions of students and recent school and college leavers seek to extend their learning time and professional training through work experience. While this takes different forms from country to country, for many young people this is still the first experience of joining the world of work. 

We strive every year to give our interns the opportunities to learn, expand their creative capacity and develop in an exciting environment where we foster curiosity and innovative ideas. It is essential to provide space, time and resources for young talent, as their potential, motivation and creativity can enrich the company as well and lead to new initiatives, developments and progress. 
 

Thank you

8 May is International Interns Day and we would like to thank all of the young professionals who have invested their energy and time in growing with us. 

We currently have a diverse group of more than 750 interns in the group, with 25 nationalities. Our interns have more than 30 professional profiles, from lawyers to financiers, psychologists to journalists, and engineers to mathematicians. 
 

An opportunity to reinvent ourselves

The coronavirus healthcare emergency has forced us to reinvent ourselves. We’ve introduced measures so that our interns can continue with their training online in several countries and in the corporate centre, in Boadilla del Monte, Madrid. As we continue our digital transformation, we know that global solutions are those which can have the biggest positive impact for society and provide more opportunities to prosper.

While unexpected, the opportunity to continue developing in a different environment, through a totally digital experience, is turning out to be positive and perhaps even of unique value for their professional careers, in the face of a challenge few of us have had to face before, as they tell us below. 

According to Marta Bastida, a scholarship holder in Credit Risk, the "biggest challenge in this situation has been having to live with nine relatives. However, what has helped me the most have been the facilities provided by my colleagues and the trust they have placed in me".

For some of them, such as Javier Gárate and Juan del Valle, both from the Studies area, the challenges have been "adaptation without the means we had in the office" or "combining work with the team", although they agree that this has been possible thanks to "constant communication" or "personal and departmental initiatives". Finally, what many of them are facing can be summarised in the words of Una Petersone, a Human Resources intern, who says "this is a very complex and extraordinary moment for all of us. In the team we are trying to overcome it by having regular phone calls, and online meetings. We also have talks about the current situation, and how it affects us and our families". 

Santander is the largest single corporate contributor to higher education in the world, and our desire has always been to contribute to the progress of young people and to celebrate their successes. Although we are celebrating interns day in unusual circumstances this year, in previous years we have done this through different activities in some of our geographies.

More than 170 interns took part in our “Open Your Heart and Mind” activities in the corporate centre a few months ago. These sessions aimed to connect our young talent with people with disabilities, through a range of recreational activities.

In addition to networking and fostering team building, these young people also demonstrated their commitment to others. They say that what appealed to them most was “learning about the daily lives of people with disabilities and the issues they face".

In Santander Chile, we launched a range of activities that attract over 500 participants every year, including activities, challenges and competitions, mainly organised through social media. The teams who received them are involved in exercises of integration, celebration and recognition of the work done during this period.

María Eugenia de la Fuente, head of People, Communications and Sustainability in Santander Chile, says “we have been delivering a training role in the bank for years. Everyone who does an internship with us is involved in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams in an excellent working environment, and they are warmly welcomed by our colleagues”.

Santander Chile also organises a welcome event, with breakfast, talks, lunches and games, all within the framework of our Simple, Personal and Fair culture. This also features a cycle of talks by specialists from the Bank to give a comprehensive overview of the work and functions of all of Santander's areas, enabling our interns to understand and have a wider overview of the work of the teams they are in.

In all our markets, Santander is continuing work to share our resources, time and experience with people who, when they complete their training, we hope will be even more inspired to unleash their capacity and creativity with us.