As students approach graduation, many are still weighing their options for the next step. Some want to gain work experience; others want to continue graduate studies. Many want to travel, or take a gap year. As it turns out, they can have it all.

The Mountbatten Institute runs one-year traineeships in investment banking and finance in London and New York.

"This is a life-changing opportunity for young people," said Phenthip Chomprang, marketing and recruitment director at the institute. "They will be working in well-established companies and studying while living abroad."

Students or recent graduates are placed in a one-year traineeship in the investment banking or finance sector, in either New York or London. Placements in the past few years have been in firms such as UBS, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, BlackRock Investments, Citi and HSBC.

The programme also includes compulsory classroom training and seminars roughly three times a week. At the end of the year, participants earn a postgraduate certificate (PGC) awarded by an accredited UK university.

Participants pay US$12,000 for the PGC to join the programme, but receive approximately US$13,000 over the course of 12 months as a monthly stipend.

They are also provided shared accommodation in fully furnished apartments, and a healthcare and utilities allowance.

Perhaps the best part of being part of the programme is the fact that it solidifies a participant's CV, providing that competitive edge from having worked abroad for a year in the world's business and financial centres. Freda Wan