Banco Santander, through Santander Universities, has announced 600 scholarships in Soft Skills Innovation and Personal Management for recent graduates and young professionals. The aim is to develop the soft skills needed in a more competitive labour market.

The scholarships for entirely online training are aimed at new graduates and professionals aged 20 to 35 from 14 countries (Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, USA, Spain, Peru, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Uruguay). Applications can be made until 8 June at www.becas-santander.com.

Selected candidates can choose from three online training courses taught by Esade, recognised by the Financial Times as the fourth best business school in Europe for teaching new skills. The eight-week courses can be taken in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. A combination of theoretical and practical training provides students with all the tools needed to successfully complete the courses.

The course trains participants in strategic leadership, enhances personal development by helping participants identify their strengths and areas for improvement, as well as developing their creative and agile organisational skills.

Javier López, global director of Social Impact of Santander Universities, said: “the impact of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus is expected to be greatest for young people. They are more vulnerable, and we can already see that they are suffering the most job losses. For this reason, at Santander Universities we want to support young people through a series of scholarships that offer training in critical skills that will help them better succeed in the labour market. They will learn skills that improve their performance in organisations that are becoming less hierarchical, that work in project teams, and require disciplined management and creativity when solving problems”.  

Marc Correa, vice dean of Esade Executive Education programmes, said: “companies are looking for talent with management skills in multidisciplinary areas and considerable cultural diversity, as well as new technological and soft skills. In the current crisis, it becomes even more important that young people are trained in soft skills, since these skills enable leaps in career responsibilities. As part of Esade's commitment to society, and given our closeness to the business community, we give students the best tools to ensure their future in a post-Covid-19 world – which will be more digital and competitive than ever. Furthermore, as a result of our commitment to educational innovation and quality training, Esade has recently been recognised as the most innovative university in Latin America, according to a ranking by El Economista”.

Santander Skills Scholarships are part of a Banco Santander initiative to help university students and young professionals succeed in a labour market stressed by the coronavirus crisis.