Established in 2011 by husband and wife team, Will and Gill Sherwin, Best of British Beer is now a leading retailer of craft beers and real ales based at Silverdale Enterprise Park, Stoke-on-Trent.

Having had success from employing Keele University students in the past, the company looked to employ two Santander interns to help with planning and delivery of two peak times of the year - Father's Day and Christmas.

One of the interns took on the role of updating the company website and taking responsibility for product photographs, whilst the other wrote the product descriptions and company blogs. Hours were offered on a flexible basis, to fit around their studying.

Director of Best of British Beer Will Sherwin comments: “As an online business, we’re heavily reliant on developing our web offering by having new products on the site. With the students’ input we’ve kept a steady flow of new content and blogs to drive customers to our business, ultimately helping to boost sales.

I think it’s important to have a clear idea of what your interns will be doing before they start with you. It isn’t good enough to just give them a title and job description – you need to offer guidance, support and feedback to them as they go along. We see it as a two way street - we get the benefit of their time and I believe they’ve learned new skills, understood more about how business works and gained confidence from the experience.”

Business Management and Psychology student Izaak Handley said: “After taking a marketing module during the first year of my degree, I was eager to take on a direct marketing role in real life and the Santander internship scheme and Best of British Beer has allowed me the opportunity to do just that. The best thing about working for the company is knowing that the work I produce is an actual contribution!”‌

Both the interns have been offered further work since they finished their eight-week Keele-Santander programme.‌

‌‌Business support programmes are available through Keele University’s Business Gateway.

For information on the Santander Universities commitment to Higher Education, please visit www.santander.co.uk/uk/santander-universities