Stanbic Bank Uganda has announced it will hire and mentor young, ambitious, and brilliant university students who graduate at the top of their classes in a new initiative dubbed “Stanbic Uganda Graduate Programme.”
Launched at a media event in Kampala, the programme has been lauded by University administrators and student leadership representatives as “the kind of opportunity that we have been longing for…and a noble cause that will nurture the next generation of leaders.’
Speaking at the launch, Anne Juuko, the Stanbic Bank Uganda Chief Executive dubbed the programme as ‘the autobahn to your career dreams.’
“We have designed the programme to be an autobahn that will challenge participants to explore their full creative and innovative potential with the objective of turning them into business leaders of tomorrow in their respective career paths,” she said.
One of the perks, besides gaining actual work experience with top professionals, is that this will be a fully paid graduate program with successful candidates receiving a competitive salary and full benefits during the 12-month programme,” Juuko added.
Juuko added, “from shadowing senior colleagues to working on projects that make a difference, our Graduate Programme fellows will build the skills, gain the experience, and enjoy the freedom they need to create a brighter future not only for themselves but also contribute to our purpose—driving Uganda’s growth.”
Who is eligible?
David Mutaka, the Executive Head for People and Culture at Stanbic Bank said the selection process will be a fair and transparent one and will also be deliberate about being inclusive of all Ugandans who genuinely qualify and have the potential to solve problems facing humanity today.
Eligible candidates must be young Ugandans who completed an undergraduate programme between 2020 and 2023. However, for those graduating in 2023, they must have completed school by September 2022 and awaiting graduation.
Candidates must also have graduated with a 4.0 GPA or above, (First Class and High Second upper) and if applicable have less than two years’ work experience. Preferred applicants are those in any field of study related to the bank’s business units.
The programme will also encourage special needs graduates to apply in line with the bank’s inclusion policy.
For the inaugural intake, successful applicants will be attached to roles that require ‘future ready skills’ in functions such as global markets, data Science, credit, risk, relationship banking, finance, information technology, Salesforce administration and human resource management, according to Mutaka.
Universities, students excited
Rodney Rugyema, attached to the Makerere University’s Dean of Students office lauded the programme noting that it goes beyond what graduates often get from internship placements where some places reduce them to tea boys or girls, denying them the opportunity to learn during those opportunities.
Shamim Nambasa, Makerere University outgoing Guild President said, “I am glad that Stanbic Bank has started a graduate programme because internships don’t give us enough time to learn more. However, this program, which is available for a year, gives us plenty of time to learn while earning at the same time. What is even more exciting is the fact that no work experience is required.”
Other Universities in represented at the launch included Makerere University Business School—MUBS, Victoria University, Cavendish University, Ndejje University, and Uganda Christian University.
