15
Jun
2020
Karis Stander, MD of Investment20/20

Supporting the talent pipeline

Investment20/20 is the careers and talent service for the investment management industry with a specific focus on bringing diverse young people into our industry.
 
Since we were founded in 2013, 41% of all the young people who have taken part in our one-year trainee programme at an investment manager have been from an ethnic minority background.
 
In the two Think Investments programmes we’ve run over the last two years for Year 13 young people, aimed at giving them the skills to be applicant-ready for roles in our industry, 30% of the participants were black. And in our 2020 work experience week, 25% of the young people taking part were black.
 
Our work is specifically focused on reaching communities who may not have networks and access into the industry and may never have previously considered investment management as a career path open to them, including the black community.
 
Black Lives Matter. But not just black lives. Black skills, black experiences, black talent, black creativity, black careers – I could go on – should be cherished and championed. That is why we support industry initiatives such as #talkaboutblack that amplify black voices and challenge and confront racism.
 
Supporting black talent is the right thing, and Investment20/20 has played an active role in the work of #talkaboutblack. Not enough black people currently work in investment management, and there needs to be greater representation of black people in senior leadership roles too.
 
And during this pandemic, we’ve looked to continue to support those young people as they navigate this uncertain job market.
 
Firms, just like individuals, have had to make countless difficult decisions. One that no firm takes lightly is their recruitment programme.
 
Across the industry, at Investment20/20, we’ve seen approximately one third of our partner firms continue with their recruitment programmes with us as planned, one third pause or cancel their recruitment, and one third are still reviewing their way forward at this time.
 
Our central purpose is to build a diverse talent pipeline for our industry with the skills we need to succeed. And while cancelling or postponing a recruitment programme is never done lightly, it has significant consequences on the future talent pipeline for firms for years to come. We cannot be left in a position 3 or 4 years down the line where there is a talent shortfall because we gave up on young people early during this crisis.
 
That’s why at Investment20/20 we’ve been strengthening our pre-employment support to young people remotely to help build their confidence and networks, so that when they come to apply for jobs in the industry – and there are still jobs out there – they feel prepared.
 
We’ve done this by moving our established investment ambassadors programme online, through our Virtual Ambassadors Programme. Similarly to the original programme, this allows professionals from across the industry to share their story and their experiences working in and out of the industry, to help reflect the diverse routes into investment management. Alongside these, representatives from investment management firms are also providing virtual career talks and introductions to their firms to young people through our Virtual Talks for Students.
 
Finally, we’ve also been looking to reach out through the power of social media to young people who had not previously considered a career in investment management. Only last month we launched a takeover of the University of Hertfordshire’s Instagram account, where we delivered careers content to their 1, 200 followers and drew wide engagement from their student base.
 
If you have any questions about our recent work, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by email: [email protected].
 

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