Students who took part in a paid, four-week internship at Saffery Trust have praised the programme for exceeding their expectations.
Four students worked with client-facing and non-client-facing teams across the office, providing exposure to multiple careers including trust administration, compliance, accounting, digital transformation, marketing and people and culture.
Alex Cerciello-Rega, Lily Jones, Sebastian Ellis, and Vanessa De Vasconcelos were selected after impressing the firm with their enthusiasm and drive to gain workplace experience.
The interns also gained experience of corporate social responsibility by organising a “Gig on the Gravel” in support of St John Guernsey LBG – the firm’s chosen charity of the quarter.
The event featured an acoustic set performed by Mr Ellis and raised an additional £425 to the firm’s standard donation.
Ms Jones, who hopes to gain a professional qualification in Guernsey after a gap year, said: “The internship exceeded my expectations and has been incredibly useful to help me get a taste of different careers.
“I’ve really enjoyed the culture at Saffery Trust; every team member went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and help us to make the most out of the opportunity.”
Ms De Vasconcelos will start at Sixth Form Centre in September to study business, sociology, psychology, and mathematics, after which she plans to build a career in finance.
She said: “I had previously been very set on a career in accountancy, but this internship has made me realise there are many different careers in the finance industry that I might want to explore. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone and the different roles they have”.
Saffery Trust Managing Director, Nick Batiste, added that the feedback on the four interns had been “phenomenal”.
“They approached every opportunity with enthusiasm and professionalism, and it was fantastic to see how quickly they embraced the challenges presented to them,” he said.