Linda Schlüter: from Kreissparkasse Halle (Westf.) to Central America
1. In which institution of the Sparkassen Finance Group did you start your career and what brought you to the Sparkasse?
I started my career at the Kreissparkasse in my hometown of Halle (Westf.), with vocational training as a bank clerk. I was very interested in finance and for me the vocational training at the local Sparkasse was the ideal career start to get to know all areas of a financial institution and to be able to apply what I was learning directly into practice.
2. How long did you work for this institution? Please describe your Sparkassen-career briefly.
After successfully completing my 2.5-year vocational training as a bank clerk, I decided to pursue an academic career by studying economics full-time in Münster. During my studies, I had two short assignments of one month each as a student trainee at Kreissparkasse Halle (Westf.).
3. When did you start your career at German Sparkassenstiftung and what motivated you to work in international cooperation?
I started my career at German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation in July 2019 with an internship within the ASA program in the project office in Ecuador. Following the internship, I had the opportunity to join German Sparkassenstiftung in Latin America on a permanent basis as a Junior Long-Term Expert in Peru. Since mid-2020, I have been working as Junior Regional Coordinator of the Regional Project Central America (with the project countries Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Cuba and Panama) in Mexico.
Particularly through impressions and experiences during longer stays and trips abroad, I have found that, in addition to my interest in the financial sector, both internationality and social responsibility are important requirements for my professional activities.
For me, German Sparkassenstiftung’s project work is the ideal combination of social commitment and financial topics, making financial services accessible to people in developing countries and promoting their responsible use through education and training in order to create prospects for a way out of poverty.
4. What valuable experience have you taken with you from your work at Sparkassen Finance Group to your project region?
In addition to the Sparkassen-philosophy, as a trained bank clerk I can draw on my personal experience of dual vocational training at a Sparkasse. This enables me to contribute my experiences and my knowledge to the projects for implementing dual vocational training in the financial sector in Latin America.
In addition, I have adopted the holistic consulting approach practiced in the Sparkassen world – for example the application of the signature Sparkassen finance concept. This is especially helpful in my project region, where a great deal of focus is placed on lending business.
You can find out more about our projects in Latin America here.
