Sixth form students in Liverpool are getting the chance to become the financial wizards of the future.
The Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI) is funding a teaching post to enable sixth form students to study for a Diploma in Finance, Risk and Investment. It is an industry and university recognised qualification which gives young people a competitive advantage when looking for work in the financial services industry.
It is being launched at a special event at Liverpool Town Hall on Thursday 28 February by respected financial commentator Gillian Tett – an Assistant Editor at the Financial Times, who predicted the financial crash in 2006.
She will be hosting a question and answer session with young people from Liverpool Schools Parliament and representatives from the financial services and wealth management sector.
Councillor Jane Corbett, Cabinet Member for education and children’s services, said: “This is a really great new qualification which will be offered to our young people, giving them a chance to develop a real knowledge and understanding of the world of finance.
“It has been a pleasure for Liverpool City Council to work in partnership with Mayor Joe Anderson, Liverpool Vision, CISI, the finance and wealth management sector including Rathbones and the Liverpool Learning Partnership.
“The professional and financial services industry was identified as a real area of potential growth by Lord Heseltine and Sir Terry Leahy in their recent Rebalancing Britain report about the City Region. This qualification will give our students a competitive advantage when they are looking for job and training opportunities.
“It is also really important that our young people understand the importance of responsible finance, and how investment and wealth institutions impact on our everyday lives.”
Pupils wanting to take the qualification will be able to study it at Archbishop Beck School in Walton from September 2013 via the Liverpool Learning Partnership.
Wider work will also take place to promote a greater understanding of finance and money and the impact and role it has in society.
Gillian Tett’s 2009 book, Fool’s Gold: How Unrestrained Greed Corrupted a Dream, Shattered Global Markets and Unleashed a Catastrophe, won the Spear’s Book Award for the financial book of 2009. In 2011, she was awarded a President’s Medal by the British Academy and was previously recognized as Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards.
