AXA celebrates Summer Intern Programme

Twenty-one interns at AXA UK celebrated the completion of a 12-week programme
The interns were thanked for their dedication, hard work and innovative contributions to the business

Interns at AXA UK celebrated the completion of a 12-week programme which saw 21 students and recent graduates embarking on a journey of professional growth, learning and achievement this summer.

The internship programme involved networking, knowledge building and practical experience across teams in AXA UK’s Retail and Commercial businesses, as well as Finance, Risk and the HR teams. The interns met some of the AXA UK leadership team and had the opportunity to attend the ‘Be Curious’ networking event held in collaboration with AXA XL. This included fireside chats, panel sessions with leaders across AXA UK and XL and a speed mentoring session.

Each intern was assigned a role in different teams, including distribution & trading, schemes, financial lines, proposition, operational excellence and risk. They also spent time on various learning activities, including AXA Essentials which aims to offer new joiners an understanding of the company dynamics across the globe, the AXA Climate Academy and AXA UK Data Academy.

While the majority of the interns have returned to university or moved on to new endeavours, one of the interns in AXA Commercial was offered a permanent role, while two in the risk and people departments had their contracts extended.

Our 2024 summer interns have brought an amazing level of energy, enthusiasm and fresh perspectives to AXA UK. Their contributions have been of great benefit to our teams and their achievements have been truly inspiring. The interns represent the future of our industry, and it has been a privilege to witness their talents in action.

Tara Foley, CEO at AXA UK & Ireland

Anna Varley, who was recommended to do an insurance internship by a university friend, had her contract extended in the Chief Risk office for another eight months so she could complete a project.

Insurance wasn’t the first area that I thought of, and I didn’t know anything about the industry before I started so I had no idea what to expect. By the end of the three months, I’ve found that insurance is a very welcoming industry and I would highly recommend it to anyone else looking for internships.

Anna Varley, Intern

Ope Ogunyemi, who was an intern in the Retail Insights team, is studying Accounting and Financial Management at university. He chose insurance because he wanted to expand his knowledge of the financial services industry.

I’ve just completed my first year at university and this was my first internship, and a very good experience. I did Finance for my A-levels, so I learnt a bit about insurance, however, I was very open minded, and my expectations were definitely met. AXA’s values resonated with me and were one of the reasons I picked the company for my internship. The support and regular feedback my line manager has provided throughout this whole journey had a strong impact on both my personal and professional development.

I would advise anyone who would like to take up an internship in insurance to be brave, ask questions and talk to as many people as possible.

Ope Ogunyemi, Intern

Thomas O’Connell, who interned in Commercial Change & Transformation, said his experience at AXA had persuaded him to consider a career in insurance when he returns from his gap year travels.

During my internship I’ve been exposed to many different facets of the Change and Transformation department in AXA Commercial, from admin to customer-facing elements. The culture here at AXA is very friendly and welcoming and there are so many opportunities within the company. It’s not just underwriting and the traditional insurance functions, you’ve got the operational functions, investment arm and change and transformation arm. And while I wasn’t aware of all those things before joining, after the 12 weeks my perception has definitely changed.

Thomas O'Connel, Intern

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Legal notes

About AXA UK

AXA Insurance UK plc registered in England and Wales under registered number 078950 and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority under Financial Conduct Authority registration number 202312. Registered office is 20 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0BG.

AXA UK is part of the AXA Group, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 147,000 employees serving 94 million clients in 50 countries. In 2023, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 102.7 billion and underlying earnings to Euro 7.6 billion. AXA had Euro 844 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023.

In the UK & Ireland, AXA operates through a number of business units including: AXA Insurance, AXA Health and AXA Ireland. AXA UK & Ireland employs around 10,000 staff.

Important legal information and cautionary statements concerning forward-looking statements

Certain statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans, expectations or objectives. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause AXA’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. Please refer to Part 5: “Risk Factors and Risk Management” of AXA’s Universal Registration Document 2022, for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect AXA’s business and / or results of operations. AXA undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws and regulations.