On Monday 8 November, 10 students from the Girls’ School attended the Monmouth Enterprise Financial Careers Trip at Haberdashers’ Hall. The day began with an introduction from Simon Hills, who is the Director of UK Finance, providing us all with valuable knowledge into the key roles of institutions in the financial world, particularly focusing on London’s role on an international stage. Mr Hills also introduced the different types of risks that a financial institution must consider when making decisions, for example, liquidity risk.
We were then split into breakout sessions, the first of which was delivered by Josh Rosen who is the Chief Operating Officer at Just Wears. Mr Rosen provided us with useful background knowledge into the process behind equity trading by creating a model of the selling side of the market, consisting of sales, research analysts and trading and the buying side, consisting of financial institutions and hedge funds.
After a delicious lunch, NatWest delivered a beneficial session on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workforce, and the measures put in place in order to create a safe workplace for everyone. This was followed by a session by Fidelity International who gave us the opportunity to identify our own strengths and weaknesses, as well as providing us with tips and hints on building our CVs, which was an important aspect of the day.
Bob Wigley, who has participated in numerous government advisory roles and chaired the UK Green Investment Bank Commission for the Chancellor of the Exchequer during 2009-10, gave an excellent presentation on key lessons that he had learnt throughout his career, including the importance of standing out of the crowd by taking risks and seizing opportunities. The most interesting part of his presentation was his meeting with Margaret Thatcher when he was nineteen years in order to seek funding for the Young Enterprise initiative in all schools, demonstrating his ability of risk – taking and inspiring his drive to success.
The day allowed us all to gain a useful insight into the world of banking and various paths into finance, whilst also stimulating our interests for a career in international banking. Overall, it was extremely informative, allowing us to gain valuable networking skills and useful contacts for the future. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a career in the world of finance.
By Jia D
