Nick Clegg’s plan to prevent internships becoming the preserve of the wealthy may have been derided as hypocritical and unworkable, but it struck a chord with Nadia Mensah, 18, from Stepney in East London.
Last summer she was part of the City of London Business Traineeship scheme, which places inner-city students in top firms. She is now at university in Southampton, but back working in Lloyd’s of London for Easter.
“I think it is really good what he is trying to do. If you don’t have family and friends it’s really hard,” she said.
“I think they should carry on doing programmes like this — it will help people that would not be able to get these jobs. It’s really, really hard to get on these sort of schemes. There’s lots of people that don’t have opportunities like this, or family that can help.”
Ms Mensah said she always wanted to work in finance, but was unsure how to go about it until the Brokerage Citylink, a charity that connects big city firms with residents of some of the most deprived boroughs in London, came to her school.
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“I don’t know how I would have got a place like this if it wasn’t for the Brokerage,” she said. “I think it will improve my chances because I have relevant experience going forward.”
Vicky Mirfin, community affairs manager at Lloyd’s, said: “Work experience can be a career changer for young people. Some of the people we deal with might not necessarily have the wherewithal or the contacts to get these opportunities. It’s about opening the door, and it’s about bringing in new talent.”
A number of City firms now run outreach programmes to schools and areas surrounding the city.
“It’s a long way sometimes from the City fringes to the heart of the City,” said David Pack, the partnerships manager at the City of London Corporation, which co-ordinates a paid summer placement scheme for young people. “Some of these areas — Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Lambeth, Southwark — are among the most deprived on any given indicators.
“Once you have a placement at UBS on your CV you are much better placed.”
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The bank, whose City office is not far from Hackney, invites students in on several programmes, including a ten-week paid internship for 15 to 20 students a year. UBS accepted four candidates from one of these programmes on to its 2010 training scheme and 26 have applied for the 2011 intake.
Jonathan Ray, of the Brokerage, said that companies do not have to compromise on talent just because they are broadening their intake.
“A lot of firms have a negative image of work experience, sometimes because they have had the boss’s niece or nephew plonked on them for two weeks. What we are saying is we have students who are bright, motivated and want to be there.”
Like Nadia, Sharif Ahmed joined a top City firm through an internship scheme, this time KPMG.
“I’ve pretty much been living in Tower Hamlets all my life. I recently finished my A-Levels from Tower Hamlets College,” Sharif, 19, said. “It’s always been a dream to break into finance and work in the City.
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“I think it’s great that the Government are trying to help people get into internships.”