The Talent Foundry and CISI confirm expansion of student social mobility scheme to Liverpool, Derry, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds

The @Talent_Foundry (TTF) and The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (@CISI) are delighted to announce that they are continuing their partnership and expanding the roll out of a programme on employability and financial services they ran for young people over the last academic year.

The programme is a five-session mentoring opportunity and aims to provide students with soft and practical skills to assist and prepare them for future pathways including higher education, apprenticeships and employment.

The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment is the leading global professional body for securities, investment, wealth and financial planning professionals.  The Talent Foundry is an independent education charity, whose aim is to increase social mobility by helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds discover what they are amazing at, develop valuable new employment skills and take that first step into the world of work.

Through their partnership, the CISI, via their Educational Trust, and TTF are actively providing young people with tangible and relevant opportunities and skills to navigate increasingly tough job markets in a post-Covid world.  The virtual programme, which is designed for Years 12 and 13, is now being rolled out in Liverpool, Derry, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

Content includes practical employability activities such as identifying skills and abilities and creating CVs and practicing interview skills.  Each workshop includes a ‘masterclass’ activity, in which students are invited to ask their mentors questions around the theme of the session that day, for example, core transferable skills and abilities, interview skills, pitching, body language or making a good first impression.

Cate Smith, Head of Programmes at The Talent Foundry said:

“Everyone at The Talent Foundry is so pleased that not only are we continuing our partnership with the CISI, we are expanding our offer by rolling out this programme to other areas across the country.  This programme provides a really valuable opportunity for disadvantaged young people to prepare themselves for the world of work.  We know from those who took part last year that a massive 80% of them felt more confident that they know what to expect in an interview after completing the sessions, compared with 13% before.”

Matt Bolton, CISI Teaching and Learning Specialist said:

“The CISI has always had a charitable core, and we want to do everything we can to support those young people who might benefit from professional mentoring before they have to make life changing decisions about their education or employment.

The programme designed by The Talent Foundry provides a meaningful and impactful volunteering opportunity for CISI mentors and I know they are really looking forward to working closely with students again this year.”

Note: The Talent Foundry’s programmes, and events are only open to schools with higher-than-average numbers of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding within their local authority.