Students across Merseyside taking CISI qualifications in sixth form alongside their A Levels recently took part in the CISI’s Work Experience Week 2017, culminating in a conference at the Liverpool waterfront
Rebecca Aston, CISI ethics & integrity manager, presents the students with an ethical dilemma; students playing the 'Top Trader' game
A total of 27 students were offered work experience at firms across Liverpool’s business district for the first part of the week, where they enjoyed finding out more about how the financial services sector works and what different roles and departments involve, as well as researching and planning for the production and delivery of a research note on a selected FTSE listed fashion company. The students were from King David High School, St Francis Xavier’s College, The Blue Coat School, Calderstones School, The Belvedere Academy, Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School, St Hilda’s CE High School, Studio@Deyes and St Anselm’s College.
Students were placed at Investec Wealth & Investment; Tilney Investment Management Services; Blankstone Sington; Rathbone Brothers; Pershing, a BNY Mellon company; and Quilter Cheviot Investment Management, where staff made them very welcome.
Careers in Investment Management Conference
The work experience placements were followed by a two-day conference, hosted by Rathbone Brothers at Rathbone Hall in the Port of Liverpool building at the iconic Liverpool waterfront, and attended by 50 delegates. Those who had been lucky enough to go on work experience were joined by more students from their schools, plus further students from Archbishop Beck Catholic Sports College, Helsby High School, Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ and Girls’ Schools, St Edward’s College and The University of Liverpool.
The conference, organised by the CISI and the Liverpool, Chester & North Wales CISI Committee, included a dynamic interactive presentation from John Turner, a professional coach, on ‘How to deliver with impact and confidence’ and an informative lecture from Prof Michael Dougan, dean of Liverpool Law School and EU law specialist, on the state of Brexit, 12 months on.
Students were involved in a variety of interactive sessions, such as speed-networking with professionals from different departments and at different levels of seniority, and a careers and employability session, led by the CISI, along with Marshall Moore Recruitment Agency and the recruitment department of Pershing. Student teams decided on their investment strategy in shares and commodities while playing ‘Top Trader’ from BNY Mellon, and were presented with ethical dilemmas by Rebecca Aston, the CISI’s ethics & integrity manager.
The week was "interesting, insightful and a real eye-opener"
One of the highlights of the week was the student presentations of the research note to the ‘Liver Birds’ panel of investors – Elizabeth Canning, chief service officer at Pershing; André Winter, senior director, AIM division, Investec; Simon Fontes, senior investment director, Investec; and James Bartels, a former CISI student and asset transformation apprentice at True Wealth Planning Solutions. Prizes were given for the winning team, best presenter and a special award for one outstanding student.
Staff from Mercer and Pavis Financial Management were involved in the conference, alongside Investec Wealth & Investment; Tilney Investment Management Services; Rathbone Brothers; Pershing; and Quilter Cheviot Investment Management, where some students had already attended work experience.
Feedback from students and firms was very positive. One student said that they found the week “interesting, insightful and a real eye-opener, which really improved my knowledge and understanding of securities and investment, which I would now consider as a career option”.
Students were also involved in work experience weeks in London, Manchester, Guildford and Stoke-on-Trent, where firms involved in work experience and insight events included Winterflood Securities; Close Brothers Asset Management; Bloomsbury Wealth; Divento Financials, Pool Reinsurance Company; Thesis Asset Management; Castlefield Investment Partners; DJH Wealth Management; Mitten Clark; HSBC; RKH Speciality; Priscilla Ross, investor relations; The Brokerage Citylink and Kaplan Finance.
Inspiring futures and developing the next generation of financial services professionals
The CISI partners with schools, colleges and universities to offer qualifications and careers education for young people to learn about the financial services sector and gain an understanding of the diverse job roles and employment opportunities available. If you or your firm can offer support to our work with education both in Liverpool and in other regions nationally, please contact educationdevelopment@cisi.org