Member Article

Blueprint for All partners with American Express to help young people with diverse ethnic heritage into financial services

Thursday 11th November, 2021: Blueprint for All has partnered with global payments company and credit card provider, American Express, to deliver a specialised Financial Services programme for its members. The course is designed to provide 18–30 year olds living in the UK from a diverse ethnic heritage with the expertise, advice and network to pursue a career in financial services.

Launching this month, the course will consist of monthly virtual workshops and expert-led careers talks by American Express colleagues on topics ranging from CV writing to building confidence and a personal brand. Alongside specialist workshops, American Express will provide mentoring opportunities to participants to help navigate their way into the industry. The mentors will help participants improve on areas such as communication, as well as professional and personal development.

Both the workshops and the mentoring programme are free to join and funded by American Express.

Sonia Watson, CEO of Blueprint for All, said: “We are proud to be working with our corporate partner, American Express, to support and inspire participants. We are passionate about ensuring that everyone, irrespective of their race, ethnicity or background, has the opportunity to create their own blueprint - which this programme allows, creating tangible opportunities for young people to gain access to the financial sector.”

Rounded courses like this exist to improve the representation of people with diverse ethnic heritage within different industry sectors.

Young people with diverse ethnic heritage can be under-represented in the workplace and may struggle to find positive role models, and the partnership with American Express aims to counter this. Rebecca Shogunle, an alumni of a previous Blueprint for All course commented: “Having a mentor, hearing from industry experts and seeing behind the scenes really inspired me. I feel incredibly lucky to have found my passion and be able to follow my dream.”

Blueprint for All has also worked with American Express’ colleague networks including BEN (Black Engagement Network) and ANA (Asian Network at Amex) as well as its Serve2Gether UK colleague volunteering programme to develop ‘A Guide to Financial Services’ toolkit. This resource aims to demystify the industry, offering insights, and empowering a diverse future workforce. The toolkit designed for participants of the course, although available to all members, exists as both a great introduction and takeaway from the course.

American Express also funds Blueprint for All’s Creative Pathways course, which supports those seeking development and exposure in creative industries.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rosie Stafford .