The Santander Universities SME Internship Programme is giving Royal Holloway students and recent graduates the opportunity to gain valuable work experience – and even their first jobs.

For many, gaining a degree is an essential step on the path to a rewarding and stimulating career. But in today’s climate, it’s often not enough. According to a 2017 study, two thirds of employers look for graduates with relevant work experience which will have helped to prepare them for the workplace.

While work experience placements and internships provide incomparable insights into business practices, they come at a price. Often, they require students to work for free or the placement only make a small contribution towards expenses, making placements and internships unaffordable for many.

This is why Santander’s Universities SME Internship Programme is proving invaluable to Royal Holloway students and recent graduates such as Will Barnes (pictured above), who studied both for his BSc in Geography and his Masters here.

Open to small and medium-sized enterprises, the programme ensures that interns are paid £300 per week for placements that last between two and 10 weeks. Half of this is paid by the SME and half by Santander, while the payments for placements of two weeks or less will be covered entirely by Santander.

Having completed his Masters in cultural geography research, Will went into volunteering, “It gave me some good experience but obviously, I could only volunteer for so long as I needed to have an income of some sort.”

When he heard about the internship with Common Vision, an independent think tank, he jumped at the opportunity to apply. “The Santander placement was fantastic and got me my full-time job. The money allowed me to go full time for a solid six weeks, really commit and prove myself. They were able to almost put me on trial.”

During his placement, Will was able to attend stakeholder meetings, including at the Cabinet Office, and was given increased responsibility. “The internship allowed me to move into more mainstream, integral roles and really get some incredible experience,” he says. “I was given responsibility that I hadn’t had before in volunteering. Whilst it’s been a challenge, it has really tested me and helped me to grow as an individual which is invaluable.”

Halfway through his placement, Will was offered a full-time contract with Common Vision and is now working as a Research and Programme Coordinator. “It was a huge surprise and I was over the moon. I’ve really started to embed myself into the organisation and am working on projects which are interesting and important.”

Having started university unclear about where his degree would lead him, Will is now firmly set on his path, “I went to uni not knowing what I wanted to do and came out knowing exactly what I wanted to do. Royal Holloway has helped me to take the skills I developed during my studies and use them in the workplace, through the Santander placement.”

“Royal Holloway was a fantastic university for me and holds an important place in my heart.”

For more information, or if you would like to make a donation, please contact the Development Managers on 01784 414478 or email development@royalholloway.ac.uk.