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Strive Internship Programme

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The award-winning Strive Internship Programme places students from global majority backgrounds into paid summer work placements with local employers.

Strive was started by Hargreaves Lansdown, UWE, the Bristol Mayor’s Office and Bristol City Council in 2020. Since then, it has provided 134 internships across more than 35 organisations in the South West UK, in a wide range of different industries.

Sanderson took over the scheme in 2025. We are now building it out to create more opportunities for the young people who need them most.

  • "The experience I gained was immensely valuable, and I genuinely enjoyed immersing myself in [the workplace]. It was a very positive and insightful experience that has played a key role in shaping my future career goals.”
    2025 Strive Intern
  • "It was the best 6 weeks of my life! It helped me transition from a uni student, build my confidence and give a sense of purpose. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity."
    Strive 2024 Intern
  • "This experience has boosted my confidence and showed me that I’m more capable than I thought and I can achieve big things."
    Strive 2024 Intern
  • "I gained invaluable work experience that has improved my professional skills. I had hands-on experience in various roles within the business which has helped develop me for the future."
    Strive 2024 Intern

If you’re an employer interested in taking a Strive intern

We’re always looking for more companies to offer internships through Strive. If you’d like to find out what’s involved, or register your interest, use the button below and our Programme Lead will be in touch for a no-obligation chat.

Here’s a brief overview of what we ask employers to commit to:

  • Offer a 6-8 week work experience placement for a student from a global majority background over the summer holidays.
  • (We’ll send you three carefully chosen candidates to interview for your internship, taking all the usual stress out of advertising and shortlisting.)
  • Pay your intern the Real Living Wage.
  • Join us for our Launch and Wrap-Up Events to meet other employers and help all the Strive interns grow their networks.
Register your interest here
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"The Strive Internship programme has brought new talent and fresh ideas to Hargreaves Lansdown, while opening doors for underrepresented young people in our community. It’s a powerful step towards building a more inclusive future. We’re proud to continue our involvement and are delighted that Sanderson are supporting this fantastic programme."
Tom Robinson, Global Head of Organisational Development

Internship Programme Objectives

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    Opportunity

    Offering students of ethnic minority backgrounds a valuable workplace opportunity.

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    Confidence

    Building students’ confidence and professional and peer networks.

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    Skills

    Gaining a deeper understanding of themselves and their values and acquire transferable employment skills.

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    Employability

    Developing employability skills so that students can confidently find, apply and interview for future jobs.

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    Connection

    Providing a platform for local employers to connect with young talent, promote their opportunities and access talent across new talent pools.

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    Pathways

    Expanding the understanding of what Bristol and the South West has to offer in terms of sectors and roles and explore potential career paths.

  • "We have participated in Strive for the past few years and have always had a positive experience with the programme. We think it’s important to provide opportunities to marginalised groups and underrepresented young people, as they might not have been able to get these opportunities otherwise.”
    Ria Baker, IntellectBooks

If you’re a candidate who’d like to join Strive

Applications for the 2026 programme will open in early January.

Register your interest to be notified when the listing goes live by emailing [email protected]

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testimonial
As a proud business headquartered in the heart of Bristol for over 40 years, we are delighted to be taking on the Strive internship programme, offering opportunities to university students of ethnic minority backgrounds across organisations in the West of England. This further continues our work and commitment to developing great talent in the city of Bristol and surrounding areas and to the local communities in which we work in.
Jon Ball, Sanderson CEO

How did the Strive Internship Programme get started?

In 2020, against the backdrop of the pandemic and rising unemployment amongst young Black students, Chris Hill, former CEO of Hargreaves Lansdown and Marvin Rees, Bristol Mayor, identified a need to take action to create opportunities for Black students. Inspired by the simplicity of the #10000BlackInterns initiative, Hargreaves Lansdown launched the ‘West of England Black Interns Pilot’, in partnership with Bristol City Council, UWE and The Mayor’s Office.

Building on the success of the pilot programme, the Strive Internship was created, broadening the focus to offer a paid internship opportunity to university students from ethnic minority backgrounds, living or studying in Bristol, Bath and North-East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. In 2022 the programme received an Institute of Student Employers award for the scheme.

Strive is vital in providing internships to students in these minority communities who according to research from UWE APP, citing Rafferty, 2012; McIlwaine and Bunge, 2018 and Henehan and Rose, 2018, are more likely to face discrimination in the workplace and tend to have poorer graduate outcomes compared to their White counterparts.

We are proud to be leading a programme which works to unite the public, private, and academic sectors with a shared objective of improving employment outcomes for minority communities.

 

 

Next steps

If you’re an organisation interested in taking part, register your interest here. If you’re a student, check back here in the coming months to find out more.

Any questions? Drop us an email: [email protected]

Download 2026 Intro Brochure

Our Strive 2026 Introduction offers a quick overview of the scheme, if you’d like to use it to raise awareness or get buy-in within your organisation. Download it using the form below.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Internships will take place over the summer period and will last between 6 and 8 weeks, depending on the placement organisation. More information about internship dates will be provided in the final stages of the recruitment and selection process which will take place in early Spring.

  • Organisations across Bristol, Bath and North-East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are eligible to offer internships as part of the programme, which means that internships on offer are across a range of organisations and sectors. We are in the process of finalising our partner organisations for our 2025 intake.

  • Applications for the Internship will be open early 2025, details will be announced then. Students eligible for the Strive Internship Programme need to meet the following criteria.

    • Be a student from an ethnic minority background, living in or studying an undergraduate degree in the region or have graduated from University within the last 12 months.
    • Be available to work full-time from June 2025 for a minimum of six weeks.

  • We are still in the process of finalising our internship opportunities for 2025, last year there were 20 internships.

  • So far, all confirmed internships are based in Bristol. As more employers sign up, we hope to share opportunities in Bath or the wider South West.

  • Unfortunately not for this year. However, we are hoping to expand Strive to new cities and regions in 2026, so please check back with us or your university job board next year.

  • The South West covers the counties of Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Please be advised that the overwhelming majority of internships will be offered in Bristol, so you must be able to easily travel to and from the city.

  • All candidates are asked to complete a first-round application to check their eligibility. If ineligible, you will receive an email within 24 hours letting you know. If you are eligible, you will be invited to view available internship opportunities and complete a second-round, more in-depth application at the beginning of March. Candidates who pass this stage will be invited to interview with their prospective employer from mid-April.

  • All employers will be asked to complete interviews and make offers by 16th May 2025.

  • This is up to individual employers, and they are not required to cover travel expenses. If they can, this will be clearly stated in the job description for their specific internship.

  • This is up to individual employers and will be stated in the job description.

  • Alongside valuable work experience in a live environment, Strive aims to equip you with crucial professional skills via weekly Skills Sessions, attended online. You will also get the chance to network in-person with other interns and employers at launch and wrap-up events, building useful contacts and practising your networking skills.