100 lives transformed: The Lloyds Scholars programme

Since 2013, the Lloyds Scholars programme has played an invaluable role in supporting the retention, achievement and effective progression into graduate employment of students.

Who Lloyds supports

The programme focuses on students from lower-income households (less than £25,000) in the UK who are beginning a full-time three or four year undergraduate degree at Birmingham. Approximately 50% of Lloyds Scholars come via the University’s Access to Birmingham (A2B) scheme, now part of Pathways to Birmingham, which supports young people from under-represented backgrounds.

How Lloyds are helping students

• Annual bursaries to help with living costs and study materials
• Hands-on work experience through paid summer internships; over 150 students have taken part
• Advice and support from a dedicated mentor; over 100 Lloyds Scholars have been matched with a mentor at Lloyds
• Over 94% of scholars from our first four cohorts of Lloyds Scholars were in graduate-level employment within a year of graduation

‘The Lloyds Scholars programme has helped me to break boundaries that my background limited. It has provided us with a platform to not only give back but to explore the world of opportunity which seemed so distant previously. The programme has been a barrier-breaking opportunity and is the true encapsulation of building equity for all.’

Shevina Shaw, Psychology BSc 2020, Lloyds Banking Group Graduate Programme

The benefits for Lloyds

• Many Lloyds Scholars graduates have remained at Lloyds, some reaching the level of Associate Director and senior managerial positions
• Over 30% of our graduated Lloyds Scholars from all cohorts progressed onto the Lloyds Banking Group Graduate Scheme, working in risk and finance, cyber security research, investment analysis, customer engagement, commercial banking and many more areas.

How the Lloyds Scholars are paying it forward

Volunteering is a mandatory part of the programme and Lloyds Scholars are keen to support their community, to show their appreciation for the support they have received. Lloyds Scholars have completed over 24,250 hours of volunteering in the local community, and even founded their own volunteering society as part of Lloyds’ 250^th anniversary celebrations. Volunteering has included renovating a hospital garden for people with brain injuries, supporting work to feed homeless people and Christmas celebrations people with complex disabilities.

Find out how you could support students like the Lloyds Scholars

If you are inspired by the Lloyds Scholars programme, get in touch to see whether supporting scholarships or access programmes like this could be right for you.