Banking on success

Head of banking turns guru for students

No matter where you start off you can always reach the top off the business ladder; that was the message given to students at All Saints Catholic High School in Kirkby who benefited from the business know-how of Steve Pateman, head of banking at Santander UK.
The executive director, who began working in banking when he was 16, visited the school to talk about his career path and to provide guidance and insight to students.
He was joined by a team of executives including Steve Granite who was a pupil at All Saints before joining Abbey Logistics in 1995.
All Saints is a school closely connected with the city-region’s knowledge economy, in particular the finance and advanced manufacturing sectors. The school is a flagship for charity Career Academies UK which fosters links between education establishments and businesses.
Santander has partnered with All Saints on the career academy programme since 2011 and provides students with paid internships, guru lectures, business mentors and work experiences, with more planned this year.
“We were delighted to welcome Mr Pateman to our school” said Pete Bradley, headteacher. “We believe it’s vital we prepare students for the world of work and as the business world arrived on our doorstep for IFB 2014 this was an opportunity we couldn’t miss.
“This was a face to face experience for our students, hopefully it will inspire them, and allow them to see where their education will get them and the career paths open to them”.
Steve Pateman, Santander said: “We are committed to helping young people reach their potential and the career academies programme is focused on giving students the chance to  gain vital employability skills, alongside their A level studies.
We are very proud of our partnership with All Saints and I hope today we were able to give the students an insight into the fulfilling career opportunities that exist across the financial services sector.”