DFCC Bank awards internships to 6 successful Samata English students

From left: The interns with Assistant Vice President (IR & ER) Shan Heenkenda, CEO Lakshman Silva, Vice President Human Resources Sonali Jayasinghe and Senior Manager – Corporate Communications and Brand Engagement Melissa Lewke 

DFCC Bank is giving rise to a group of confident youth by imparting proficiency in spoken English, thereby enhancing their career prospects through its Samata English CSR program. More importantly, the bank extends internship opportunities for the top scorers in the program to learn the ropes of the banking industry. This year too, on successful completion of the second edition of Samata English, where participants learnt spoken English, the top scoring students were offered a six-month internship program. 

Six students who scored the highest were offered paid internships at DFCC Bank’s Kandy, Kurunegala and Galle branches. The internship is designed to provide an all-round experience for interns who will work alongside bank staff on special assignments and projects and also avail of classroom programs. 

The formal ceremony awarding these internships was recently held at the DFCC Auditorium. The six successful interns are G.H.G. Chalani Koshika Kumari and Henaka Rallage Hasini Nethmika Gunawardana from Kandy; Dasuni Thamodi Kalansooriya and K.A. Thilaka Oshan from Galle; and W. Amali Pushpika Thilakarathna and M. Sanuri Isurika Weerasekara from Kurunegala.

DFCC CEO Lakshman Silva said: “We are proud to welcome the six top-scoring graduates of Samata English as Interns with us at DFCC Bank. This paid internship is the apt culmination of the efforts put in by the aspiring students to enhance their career prospects. The internship program has been devised to give them a holistic view of the banking industry and inspire them to join the ranks of new and dynamic youth in the sector. It gives me great pleasure to witness the successful conclusion of the second edition of our Samata English program to build future leaders.”

The Spoken English course was carried out at DFCC’s Galle, Kandy and Kurunegala branches from April to August 2018 for students between the ages of 18 and 22. The bank partnered with the Gateway Language Centre and 96 students were selected to enrol for the course upon completion of an initial assessment. 

The course was held over a period of three months and at the final examination, a total of 87 students scored a First Class out of 96, which reflects how much the course has helped to improve their spoken English skills. The final assessment was conducted by Gateway where they also received a CALSDA Certification. The initiative commenced in 2017 with programs being held in the Kalutara and Gampaha Districts. 

Education is a key pillar in DFCC Bank’s corporate social responsibility initiatives. In line with this, the bank has actively supported education in the country through various initiatives over the years. DFCC Bank was recently recognised as one of the Top 10 Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL).