Strive Internship Programme 2025 Has Officially Launched

Yesterday afternoon, over 50 guests arrived at Sanderson’s Bristol HQ to celebrate the launch of this year’s Strive Internship Programme, including the 29 students who have worked extremely hard to be part of Strive this summer.

Sanderson’s Strive journey started back at the beginning of 2024, when we got in touch with our friends at Hargreaves Lansdown to ask if we could invite an intern to spend the summer in our Bristol office. We were duly joined by an intern who so impressed the whole team that we knew we wanted to keep being part of Strive for as long as it kept running.

Fast forward a few weeks, and we were in touch with Hargreaves Lansdown again – this time to hear that they were looking to pass Strive on to ensure it could keep running, and that they wanted us to do it.

It didn’t take a lot of discussion before we agreed. We believed wholeheartedly in the good work that Strive is doing.

The data shows again and again that students from underrepresented backgrounds face more difficulty getting into sustained employment after leaving university. This cohort can often face discrimination, and are more likely to lack a support system that can make connections with potential employers; arrange work experience; and advise on CV writing, interview technique, and everything else that helps you start a career post-university.

The goal of Strive is to become that support system – to create connections, offer paid work experience, and teach students some of the crucial skills they’ll need to find a long-term position post-university.

Yesterday afternoon let us see that in action.

After a brief introduction from our CEO Jon Ball, Business Enablement Director Steve Phillips and the Strive Programme Lead (me!), we stepped back and encouraged everyone to get talking.

Interns were given the chance to chat to each other, to all the employers and colleagues who came along, and to representatives from Strive’s partners DeepLearn HS and our friends at Not Impossible. In turn, employers and partners got to know each other and the interns, and pick up useful tips and tricks for improving inclusion and supporting their Strive interns to get the most from their work experience.

It demonstrated one of the other things we love so much about Strive: it’s not all about what the interns can take away. As employers, we get to invite more diversity into the heart of our organisations, improving our perspectives and exposing ourselves to new viewpoints and ways of working. Plus, we get the enviable opportunity of talking to a cohort of talented, highly motivated, and enthusiastic students who keep proving that the future of the workforce is in very good hands.

We had representatives from nearly all the employers taking part this year:

• ARAG
• Ashton Gate
• Bishop Fleming
• Bristol City Council
• BOM IT Solutions
• Carter Jonas
• Hargreaves Lansdown
• IntellectBooks
• Nucleus Financial
• Plimsoll Productions
• QinetiQ
• Squarcle
• University of West of England
• Willmott Dixon

In addition, we were pleased to welcome key Strive partners from UWE. UWE helped Hargreaves Lansdown set up Strive in the first place, and have been tireless champions of the scheme ever since. At least 80% of Strive candidates this year came from UWE, and they have taken on three interns themselves this year in their web and molecular biology teams.

It was great to see interns throwing themselves into the networking, talking to employers about potential career paths and opportunities within their industries. We overheard conversations about graduate schemes, special interests, experiences so far, and much more. Plus all the interns got the chance to talk to one another and start making connections that we hope will stay long after Strive is over.

Now that the event is over and Strive is officially launched, we’re focusing on running our weekly Life Skills sessions (supported by our fantastic employers and partners), prepping surveys to send out, and getting our ducks in a row for Strive 2026.

Speaking of which: if this article has piqued your interest, send an email to [email protected] to chat about whether Strive might be right for your business. There’s no obligation and no hard selling from us. Just a gentle hope that you can see its positives, and that you’d like to be part of it in the future.