The inaugural three-month internship programme with OCBC Bank involving 12 TAR College students has proven to be a hit among its Business School students. As part of the compulsory credit requirement in their courses, the internship programme provided the students with a platform for gaining hands-on experience, knowledge and skills in the banking industry.

During the programme, the interns were placed under the Consumer Financial Services division and guided by senior executives of the Bank. They were exposed to various key areas in the industry such as Mobile Banking, Direct Sales, Mortgage Sales, Customer Experience and Wealth Management. The robust programme incorporated amongst others, classroom teaching, sharing sessions, mentoring and coaching, and educational tours. Their stint culminated in project assignments and a final presentation to a committee comprising senior OCBC Bank personnel to ensure that they internalized all they had learned.

Ms. Kho Sok Kee, Head of the College’s School of Business Studies said she was pleased with the role the Bank played in preparing the students for a potential future in banking. “The internship programme has clearly been fruitful. Over such a short period, I can see that my students are more confident and have developed good people skills as well…in addition to knowing a lot more about how banking works,” she said.

According to Y Bhg Dato’ Albert Yeoh, Director and CEO of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, “The internship programme was put together to develop talent as part of OCBC Bank’s human capital seeding programme, which is in keeping with the Bank’s mission to help individuals to gain access to knowledge of the banking and financial industry in a disciplined and structured manner.”

All the 12 interns regarded the bank as their preferred organization due to its solid legacy as one of the top five foreign banks in the country and having more than seven decades of established reputation in both Malaysia and Singapore.

“OCBC Bank was my first choice when thinking about an internship programme and I feel fortunate to have been selected to participate as the programme was both comprehensive and well thought-out. Most of all, it gave me positive insights into what working at a bank is like. I’ll definitely recommend this programme to my juniors,” said Lim Kim Thai, when asked about his feelings on the inaugural programme. Lim is currently pursuing Advanced Diploma in Business Economics in the College.