Caption: Republic Bank’s General Manager, Human Resources, Anna Maria Garcia-Brooks ( 4th on left) Branch Sales Manager, Promenade Branch ( on right) and another Bank official, Shrimanie Mendonca, from Republic Bank ( Guyana) on left, pose with some of this year’s Youth Link Apprentices (cohort 2014/2015) at the launch/ orientation held at the Bank’s Head office.
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad: November 4, 2014: Republic Bank welcomed and inaugurated its 29th cohort of Youth Link Apprentices, with three days of activities, which ran from October 14 to 16. These activities were aimed at introducing the teenagers to the world of a working professional and preparing them for their next seven-month apprenticeship, as well as their future careers.
This year’s programme began with an opening ceremony, at Republic Bank’s Head Office, during which the apprentices were greeted by the General Manager of the Bank’s Human Resources Unit, Anna-Maria Garcia-Brooks. Garcia-Brooks welcomed the new apprentices with some words of advice on life, learning and professionalism at Republic Bank.
“I urge you to embrace the Bank’s obsessions with excellence and service and I can’t stress enough on the need for integrity and confidentiality in the Banking and Financial sphere,” Garcia-Brooks said.
Also interacting with the excited bunch were members of the Bank’s Executive Team, which included, Managing Director, David Dulal-Whiteway, who spoke about the organisation’s Core Values and the importance of living those values.
During the orientation process, the apprentices learnt about the structure of the Bank and the respective functions of the different units and departments, as well as other initiatives being executed by the Bank, such as the Power to Make a Difference (PMAD) campaign – an endeavour to encourage and facilitate social responsibility and volunteerism, under the purview of the organisation’s Group Marketing and Communications Unit. They will also learn about fraud detection, anti-money laundering and compliance, in addition to other aspects of banking, including credit cards, foreign exchange and saving towards retirement.
In keeping with the spirit of the programme, professionalism and business etiquette made up a major part of the Youth Link orientation. A mini fashion show, put on by the Bank’s Human Resources Unit, taught the apprentices about grooming and appropriate attire for the workplace. They also learnt about telephone etiquette, customer service and professional behaviour. Motivational speaker, Don La Foucade – another former Youth Link apprentice –spoke to the apprentices about embracing opportunities and always doing their best.
Republic Bank’s Youth Link Apprenticeship Programme is geared at secondary school graduates, 16 to 19 years old, who hope to enter the field of business and would like to gain experience in the working world. Each year, Republic Bank invites applications from interested individuals and selects participants from the best among them. The chosen apprentices are then assigned to one of the Bank’s branches, or specialist units, where they spend the next seven months learning the basic skills necessary to fulfil the job to which they have been assigned, in addition to participating in other learning opportunities, including courses in office procedures, personal development, banking operations, customer service and computing. This programme aims to provide apprentices with the tools, insights and marketable skills in business and related sectors, as well as, valuable skills in professional and social development to aid them in the transition from school to the professional world. At the end of this programme, apprentices emerge as new professionals, fully prepared to make strides in the working world.
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