When Alonzo Richards, 15 was first approached about taking part in a new corporate mentor programme at Butterfield Bank, he was reluctant.

“I wanted to be a marine biologist,” he said. “Then my mom talked to my school principal (Kalmar Richards of CedarBridge Academy) and she found out that I had been offered a place in the programme and turned it down.”

Naturally, mom had other ideas and Alonzo soon found himself headed to Butterfield Bank to take part in pilot programme, Butterfield Professional Discovery Workshops, designed to introduce young men ages 15 to 17 years old to the world of business.

Now Alonzo is having a change of heart.

“I have gotten out of this that I might actually like to work in the corporate environment,” he said. “As part of the programme I was buddied with a security guard.

“I learned that they have to move all the bags of money from the automatic teller machines (ATM) into the bank and send money to other banks.

“The responsibility of being able to handle that amount of money really impressed me.”

The primary objective of the programme is to break down the stereotypes and the belief that only a certain type of person wears a suit.

It is aimed at young men whose grades have recently slipped or who are in need of a little extra motivation.

The workshops were coordinated by Butterfield employees in the management training programme. There are currently four, only one of which is male.

“As part of the training programme we have to focus on the community,” said Salintae Tuzo-Smith, a management trainee. “We have to do something charitable.

“We spoke with different charitable organisations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and they thought that boys could benefit the most from being in this type of environment.

“We did think of doing one event for the boys and one for the girls. But we thought we would do this one as a pilot first and see how it goes.”

Over a series of three half day sessions, the boys work shadowed employees in the bank, learned personal presentation skills, talked with other male members of staff who had met with success, and learned about what was needed to succeed in the corporate world.

“Some of the lessons were pretty basic such as stand up straight, project your voice, keep your hands still when you talk. They also learned about important corporate concepts like networking.

Alex Butterfield, the only male management trainee said he grew up in a family that was in construction and wasn’t that familiar with the corporate world when he first chose it as a career path.

“I went to Warwick Academy,” he said. “I don’t think they had programmes like this when I was in high school.

“It is great for the males to get this exposure to the corporate environment and help develop their professional skills.

“I had a few slight problems when I came in. I didn’t have formal training in these skills that the boys are learning in this programme. Some of these I had to learn on the job or in college.”

Another trainee, Alexis Biermann said that even though some of the students had not yet made firm decisions on their future, it was still good for them to know that the corporate world was an option.

“We are trying to demystify the corporate world,” she said.

The boys were selected by their school to take part.

Javon Duhart, 17, said at this stage in his life he is interested in any opportunity that might be out there for self improvement.

“My passions are mostly music and the music industry,” he said. “I have found this programme very interesting and I have learned a lot.

“It is definitely a good use of time. I have learned what I need to know to be ready for the corporate world.

“I was buddied with someone in Human Resources because I am interested in working with people and sorting out their problems.

“Human Resources actually fell into what my backup plan very well. I would at least consider the corporate world now.”