Applications for the 2023 intake of the Rabobank New Zealand Graduate Programme are now open.
The 18 month-long programme offers university graduates with an interest in agriculture the opportunity to begin their careers with the global specialist agribusiness bank.
Up to ten graduates from around the country will be selected for the programme which will provide them with employment experience and career development support across various divisions of the bank including Operations, Country Banking, Risk, Products and Deposits and Human Resources.
Applications for the programme close on Sunday August 14th and the new intake of graduates will start the programme early next year.
Announcing the opening of applications, Rabobank New Zealand CEO Todd Charteris said the bank officially launched its Graduate Programme late last year and the first intake of graduates had now been with the bank six months. This followed a successful pilot programme which saw a number of graduates join the bank in early 2019 and a further group in early 2021.
Rabobank New Zealand CEO, Todd Charteris
“With the bank’s sole focus on food and agribusiness, we’re acutely aware of the need to attract more talented young people into roles across the sector, and our graduate programme is one of the ways we’re helping support this objective,” he said.
“Graduates on the programme will be provided with support to grow in their chosen areas of interest, as well as the chance to be part of Rabobank’s inclusive and flexible work culture.
“They’ll also spend time in a number of our offices across New Zealand and gain valuable customer-facing experience that will help them to better understand Rabobank’s unique approach to servicing our clients.”
Mr Charteris said this year’s intake of graduates were already making a significant contribution to the business.
“The Rabobank New Zealand leadership team have made a real effort to maintain regular contact with the new graduates, and it’s been hugely valuable to hear their initial impressions of the bank as well as some of the ideas they have for how we can make our business even better,” he said.
“Our original pilot programme participants also continue to make a big contribution, with all 12 of these graduates still in roles with the bank across our Products and Deposits and Country Banking teams.”
One of these pilot programme participants, Jack Macfarlane, said the Graduate Programme had provided him with a great grounding for the role he has now moved into as an agribusiness manager based in Hamilton.
“I’m really thankful for the opportunities the bank has given me, it’s a fast-paced exciting industry and I’ve had lots of exposure to various farming businesses throughout New Zealand over the last three years,” he said.
“Rabobank is uniquely placed in the market because they are 100 per cent focused on the agribusiness sector, and that aligns closely with my own passion and support for farming.”
Another programme participant, Maisie Bonifant, who joined Rabobank as part of the 2022 graduate intake, said she’d really enjoyed her first six months on the programme and had been impressed by the endless opportunities to learn.
“As graduates we are placed on rotations in different areas of the business all around the country. This has given me a great chance to learn about the various areas of the business from back-office roles to customer facing roles,” she said.
“Everyone on the Rabobank team has been so welcoming and they’re also really accessible and willing to provide their time to help me learn.
“I also really like that Rabobank has such a big focus on supporting rural communities. Last month, I got the chance to join a dozen other members of the Rabobank team at a working bee in Eastern Taranaki where we helped the locals spruce up the Douglas Community Hall. And it was really satisfying to see how much progress was made and to hear from the local community how much our efforts meant to them.”
With strong demand expected for a place on the programme, interested recent graduates (or those eligible to graduate prior to February 2023) are urged to apply before August 14 at www.rabobank.co.nz/graduate-careers/.
Rabobank New Zealand is a part of the global Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 120 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 40 countries, servicing the needs of about 10 million clients worldwide through a network of close to 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank New Zealand is one of the country's leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the New Zealand food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 32 offices throughout New Zealand.
Media contacts:
David Johnston
Media Relations Manager
Rabobank New Zealand
Phone: 04 819 2711 or 027 477 8153
Email: david.johnston@rabobank.com
Denise Shaw
Head of Media Relations
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand
Phone: +612 8115 2744 or +61 2 439 603 525
Email: denise.shaw@rabobank.com