The University of Birmingham has joined the award winning University Programme, Lloyds Scholars, by Lloyds Banking Group.
The Lloyds Scholars Programme, which offers students from lower income backgrounds a unique combination of financial support and, through mentoring and internships, the opportunity to develop their employability skills, is a key component of Lloyds Banking Group’s community investment programme and goes to the heart of its business strategy. The Group is committed to investing in the long-term economic future of the UK and helping Britain prosper.
The programme is set to go from strength by welcoming new partners, Birmingham and the University of Bath this summer.
Applications now open
Applications, across all eight participating universities are now open for this year's tranche of 120 Scholars.
António Horta-Osório, Group Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group said: "Recent research shows that reputation is key in influencing who students want to work for. By providing the broadest range of internship and mentoring opportunities to our Scholars, and insisting that they each volunteer 100 hours per year, we have a platform to showcase the pivotal role banks, like Lloyds, are playing within their communities. This is critical and will ensure that the brightest and most able students continue to join our industry."
As part of the £85m investment into its communities, Lloyds Group invested £1.6m in the Lloyds Scholars programme during 2012 and announced its commitment to further expand the programme. The Universities of Bath and Birmingham are part of that expansion. They join the universities of Bristol, Edinburgh, UCL, Oxford, Sheffield and Warwick on the programme.
For further information please contact Heather Scott on 07770 643840 or heatherscott@halifax.co.uk
About Lloyds Scholars
Lloyds Scholars offers young people from lower income households a unique combination of financial support, mentoring, paid work experience and the opportunity to develop their employability skills. Unlike many established bursary programmes, scholars are not bound to join the Group once their studies have completed.
The award winning programme underlines the Group’s commitment to supporting UK communities. In return, Lloyds Scholars will be required to volunteer a minimum of 100 hours in their local communities and act as champions to future generations in schools and universities.
Application Process
Prospective Scholars initially complete a simple form to determine whether or not they can become eligible for the programme. Successful applicants undertake an online numeracy test which, if successful, is followed by a telephone interview. Final interviews are via a face-to-face assessment centre, where students complete a competency based interview and a range of exercises that are designed to simulate the challenges they may face in the working environment.
www.lloyds-scholars.com
About Lloyds Banking Group
The Group makes a difference in the UK by contributing positively to the communities it serves. Investing £85m in UK communities in 2011 and 2012, it has committed to keeping its charitable and community investment at this level for the period of the strategic plan. Being the best bank for customers also means that it needs to be the best bank for communities. As the biggest retail bank in the UK its own success is directly linked to the health and wellbeing of those communities. It supports its communities through a number of programmes including charitable giving, volunteering and it also runs financial education programmes that aim to make people more financially capable. In 2012, the Group gave almost £29 million to its charitable foundations to support grassroots charities working with disadvantaged communities.