The Managing Director of FirstBank Ghana, Mr Victor Asante, has urged young people between the ages of 10-14 across the country to seize the opportunity presented by the bank’s Junior Internship Programme (JIP).

According to him, this initiative is a unique opportunity to gain firsthand insight into the world of banking.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, July 3, Mr Asante highlighted the practical benefits of the programme, which is aimed at introducing students to the day-to-day realities of banking.

“We take them through the basics, not the advanced,” he said. “You won’t become a banker by doing two weeks or three weeks or one month internship. But you’ll get an appreciation of it.”

He explained that the JIP is designed to offer interns a foundational understanding of the profession.

“Things like customer interaction, bookkeeping, filing, how cash is delivered, the queuing system, sitting in meetings to observe how meetings are conducted, going out with some of the relationship managers to just have a feel of meeting customers those are the kinds of experiences we provide.”

Mr Asante also emphasised that the programme encourages reflection and learning.

“We ask them at the end of every session to write an essay on their experience, so we reduce it to what they can appreciate,” he noted.

Calling on students to make the most of their vacation time by participating in the scheme.

He noted “They should come and try it and they will not regret it. They should listen or speak to those who have come for the first two years and hear the kind of experience they had.”

He urged students to make productive use of their vacation periods by enrolling in the bank’s Junior Internship Programme (JIP), promising a rare opportunity to gain practical insight into the banking profession.

“So I’m saying, put in just weeks of your vacation and you’ll never regret trying this, because it will expose you to what banking is and what banking is not,” he stated.