MANAMA: Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, welcomed twenty-eight undergraduate students from various local and international universities to its annual summer internship programme.
The two-month programme includes an induction day that covers various training sessions, such as an introduction to information security, anti-money laundering and Sharia compliance, as well as overview of the Bank’s various products and services in addition to on-the-job training.
The students were allocated to various departments in the Bank based on their specialisations and interests, including Retail Banking, Branch Network, Financial Control, Informational Technology, Banking Operation, Internal Audit, Legal Affairs, Sharia, Marketing and Corporate Communications and the Human Resources departments.
“As part of our social responsibility toward the community in which we operate, we recognise the important role we must play in helping develop and prepare the future generations to lead the banking and finance sector,” said Ithmaar Bank Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Abdul Rahim.
“Our internship programme focuses on providing students with the required skills and experience that will help them to start their careers. This is a transitional stage in students’ lives, and it is important to offer them a programme that helps link the knowledge they gain from universities and real-world practice at a workplace,” he said.
“We will continue to focus on providing training opportunities for university students to ensure they get all the support they need to succeed in their career,” said Abdul Rahim. “This, in turn, will contribute toward the development of the national economy and will help Bahrain maintain its status a key regional banking hub,” he said.
“Ithmaar Bank’s summer internship programme is a long-standing tradition that offers participants first-hand insight into the Bank’s organisational structure, as well as the key functional areas of Islamic retail banks and an understanding of day-to-day operations,” said Ithmaar Bank Head of Human Resources, Enas Rahimi. “This is an opportunity for the students to be familiarised with the banking environment through a practical, on the-job training,” said Rahimi.
“The programme has always been very popular with strong and ever-growing demand from university students,” said Rahimi. “This reflects both the Bank’s standing among the local community and the programme’s ability to help students in a real and meaningful way,” she said.
