Al Salam Bank recently announced its summer internship program catered to fresh university graduates for the 15th consecutive year. In this year’s edition of the program, the Bank will welcome 18 students from various local and international universities. The program aims to provide a comprehensive vocational training foundation for graduates to support the successful development of promising future career paths by enabling them to gain extensive experience and learn key skills from across a wide selection of the Bank’s departments.

The summer internship program, which will be held for two months, is set to run in collaboration with Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), KPMG and the Bahrain Association of Banks. Designed to offer graduates a well-rounded training experience and develop key competencies in the likes of interpersonal communication, time management and problem-solving; the program comprises a balanced mix of private counselling and mentoring sessions led by experienced executives. Moreover, in order to strengthen the spirit of collaboration and encourage teamwork amongst the trainees as part of the on-the-job training, the program will feature a real-time case study on Al Salam Bank which will be followed by a collective research project; enabling the graduates to apply their experience in real time. To further instil inspiration and a healthy spirit of competition, the group projects will be evaluated by a panel of experts to determine the winning team, which will be awarded a prize at the end of the program.

Commenting on the internship program, Ms. Muna Al Balooshi, Head of Human Resources and Administration at Al Salam Bank, said, “In light of the COVID-19 situation, last year’s program was held virtually and included remote-working challenges. The 2021 edition of the program will be in-person, while maintaining safety and social distancing guidelines set by the National Medical Taskforce; and has been carefully designed to provide young students with a more hands on and distinct training experience that effectively combines theoretical and practical knowledge in a balanced manner.”

“With the added benefit of preparing the students for a promising and successful career ahead, our annual program is a reflection of Al Salam Bank’s ongoing commitment towards social responsibility, which focuses on knowledge-sharing and extensive training; thereby contributing to strengthening the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and the reinforcement of the Kingdom’s position as a leading regional hub of Islamic finance and banking by investing in the education of the next generation of financial players and further bolstering Islamic Finance training,” She added.

Since its inception in 2007, Al Salam Bank’s summer internship program has trained more than 400 students. Offering incredible opportunities for graduates to refine their skills and knowledge, the program comprises training sessions across various departments of the Bank, namely information technology, Sharia’a compliance, corporate finance, internal control, operations, retail banking, international banking transactions, and risk management.