Member Article

Scheme offers financial and legal careers leg-up

Young people in the North East seeking a career in the financial and legal sectors are being offered a leg-up via a new scheme.

Launched as a career progression tool for people living outside of major financial and legal centres, the 21st Century Guild (21CG) provides online training and face-to-face link-ups with potential employers.

Put together by the employer-led Financial Skills Partnership (FSP), the project includes ‘virtual work experience’ for 16 to 24-year-olds, plus the same style of e-learning and mentoring that has been used by the NHS.

21CG is appointing local ambassadors in the form of FSP-trained undergraduate and postgraduate students to take workshops to schools and colleges. It will also organise Step into Careers one-day workshops where people can meet North East finance and legal professionals.

The scheme has a two-fold aim. Initially it is targeting young people to consider the legal and financial sector as a career of first choice, as well as supporting the industries locally by providing a pipeline of future talent.

Liz Field, chief executive of the FSP, said: “21CG builds on our five-year track record of industry collaboration.

“Accessible across all the UK’s regions, it ensures young people can get the support they need to access sector opportunities, and thus participate in the positive shaping of the finance and legal sector’s future.

“It was important that we offered this valuable opportunity to everyone and so, empowered by our online platform and local engagement events, we can now ensure that young people right across Tyne and Wear can find out about the industry.”

The FSP is the sector skills council for the whole of the financial industry. The scheme in the North East will cover the sector from accountancy and finance, banking and building societies, financial planning and advice, insurance and broking to wealth, investment management and pensions, and legal services.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Karen Dent .