Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC celebrates digital graduate trainees

LAGOS, Nigeria – The first ever digital graduation ceremony of the Stanbic IBTC Group was recently held in honour of the 17th Stream of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC Graduate Trainees who were themselves trained digitally.

In his welcome remarks at the ceremony, Yinka Sanni, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC said the decision to organise a ‘virtual’ graduation ceremony for the graduates was based on the COVID-inspired lockdown currently in place in many parts of the country.

Describing the occasion as epoch making, the Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC Chief Executive advised the Graduate Trainees to imbibe the values of the organisation, while also taking responsibility in various spheres of their lives.

He said: “I would like to challenge you to take responsibility on various fronts as you join Stanbic IBTC full time. Taking responsibility means you would accept to be accountable for many things. Take responsibility for the values, vision and mission of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC. Try to understand them and make up your mind to live by them. Those that live by them will be very successful at Stanbic IBTC. You should also take responsibility for your career development, progression and learning. I also advise that you should also take responsibility for your health, knowing that whatever you do may impact the health of other people.”

Sanni further urged the Graduate Trainees to be good citizens of Nigeria while he also charged them to display the tenets of innovation and creativity.

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According to Funke Amobi, Country Head, Human Capital, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, the training of the 17th Stream of Graduate Trainees kicked off ‘physically’ in the classroom at the Stanbic IBTC Blue Academy. When the total lockdown order was instituted in some states of the federation, the Stanbic IBTC management decided to convert the Graduate Trainees classroom experience to a full digital training programme, thereby converting a challenge into a historical experience. The Stream 17 Stanbic IBTC Graduate Trainees thus became the first set to hold an online graduation ceremony, in contrast to earlier sets which had attended physical graduation ceremonies.

Amobi said: “Today, I am excited to receive into the Stanbic IBTC workforce an exciting group of talented and highly intelligent graduates. You worked diligently to achieve this spectacular outcome. You are evidence to us that digital is real at Stanbic IBTC. We are a digital financial services organisation. The outcome of this digital learning is indeed a testament to the fact that the future of work is digital and Stanbic IBTC is ready and prepared for this future.”

In his remarks, Oluseye Awojobi, the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) congratulated the Graduate Trainees on the historical occasion, while also extolling the curriculum of the Stanbic IBTCHoldings PLC Graduate Trainee Program, which he said aligned with the competency framework of the CBN, thus earning the graduates exemptions in the CIBN certification process.

He stated: “I congratulate the entire Stanbic IBTC Group and the Graduate Trainees. You are part of the future and you are driving it. The CIBN is ready in its role to continue to make you a relevant and formidable team in the banking industry.”

The graduation ceremony is the final phase of the Stanbic IBTC Graduate Trainee recruitment and onboarding process. The programme was specifically designed to build capability and create a sustainable pipeline in the Group, by developing young, talented and passionate professionals for the future.

Even though the Stanbic IBTC Graduate Traineeship programme commenced in 2010 and has been classroom-based since then, in 2020, the 17th Stream of Graduate Trainees marked the first set to learn and graduate ‘virtually’.