Win-win: Breaking down barriers for young people – Investec Comment

It is a priority for all businesses to access talented employees from a range of backgrounds, to harness a broad set of skills and experiences. Yet many exceptional young people face barriers to accessing professional jobs – some obvious, many more subtle – that put them off such a career as an option or take them out of the running early on. 

 

From feeling that they don’t belong in the City, to the lack of a quiet space for a telephone interview; from not having a family member with a background in the corporate world to unpolished communication, a variety of hurdles mean that capable young people, despite their ability and “street smarts”, resilience and innovative approaches to problem solving, don’t realise their potential and businesses and their clients lose out.

Investec runs youth talent development programmes in London in partnership with social enterprise Arrival Education and excellent local school Morpeth (Secondary and Sixth Form), introducing 14 to 19 year olds to volunteers from across our businesses – from our chief executive to our traders and administrators – and getting them to work together.

 

Just coming into our building has a tangible impact on students. Appreciating the value of time spent with our people, they make the effort to attend a number of opportunities, on top of demanding academic workloads and, in many instances, family responsibilities beyond what might be expected. Aside from the benefits of workshops and other formal interactions with our staff, it’s incredible the difference putting just two or three days’ work shadowing on a CV can make in catching the attention of potential employers.

 

The brightest students are often disruptive in school and can be at risk of becoming disengaged. Bringing them into a real world situation, out of an academic setting, encourages them to communicate with adults who are not their teachers. Undivided attention from volunteers, encouraged to speak openly and authentically about their own journeys, can open a student’s eyes to a new world of possibility. It raises aspirations and helps to make the connection between choices today and success in life. We have seen student behaviour and attitudes towards care-givers, teachers and education improve dramatically.

 

Along with exposure to new energy and fresh and perhaps less cynical perspectives, student interactions have other big benefits for employees. They can refocus the thinking and sense of perspective of our people about their lives and careers. Our volunteers are consistently inspired by students’ “can-do” attitudes, even in the face of difficult challenges, while practising their own skills – deep listening, giving feedback to develop others – and their ability to relate to and demonstrate empathy for people. Many of our loyal volunteers take on leadership roles at Investec – I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

 

I would encourage businesses and employees in all sectors to get involved in similar initiatives, taking time to develop young people local to their offices. It’s hard to implement any kind of change, but we’ve seen big benefits from working with people from a variety of backgrounds, have been inspired ourselves, and have, hopefully, inspired some potential employees of the future.