Expanding horizons through city firm diversity
News article from December 16, 2019
Partnering with SHS
We love being LSEG’s UK charity partner, and it’s so much fun taking primary school children (and their parents) to meet employees. A group from LCH recently volunteered their time to inspire 10 and 11-year-olds from one of School-Home Support’s primary schools in East London.
Networking and meeting a range of staff really helps children expand their horizons, and as Alfie enduringly said: “I liked meeting all the staff and talking to everyone. People came from lots of different locations including Sweden and Greece!”
Our ambition is to help families understand the diversity within city firms by facilitating dialogue between LSEG staff and youngsters. Engaging with employees from a variety of backgrounds helps parents appreciate the different pathways people have taken in their careers.
The group was welcomed by Nathan Ondyak, who was a natural at holding the children’s attention and “was like a teacher – one you really like!” Nathan talked a bit about LSEG and shared some important life lessons around developing qualities such as confidence and persistence.
Learning about Trading
Trading chocolate was the next activity and included a live trading desk setup with chocolates and pretend money. With the support of LSEG volunteers, children and parents had to quickly decide whether to buy, sell, or do nothing in response to various global scenarios affecting the cocoa price. The winning team graciously shared the chocolates with their classmates!
“I thought the kids were very well behaved, respectful and genuinely seemed interested in learning about us and our careers. Their enthusiasm (obviously for the chocolate prize!) during the game was also very good to see. Parents were very supportive and involved as well.”
– LCH volunteer
Green Week
The unexpected bonus (and a real treat) was the fact that it was ‘Green Week’ at LSEG. Some of the staff spent their lunchtime upscaling plastic, and a few of the children managed to get involved. Thanks to Sandra Forder and Kerry Hart for being so accommodating.
“I was quite motivated by today. I’ve been out of workso it was nice to talk to people about different jobs. I’ve learnt lots today which I will share with others. It’s been great to hear people talking about building their confidence.”
– Mother of a pupil in Year 5.
Office Tour
Our morning ended with a tour of the offices, which is always so much more exciting for children than employees imagine. Seeing people they had previously met hard at work at their desks provoked some penny-drop moments…
“I will work harder on my learning so that I can do a similar job to those offered at LSEG or probably the same because it looks really interesting here.”
– Maya, Year 5.
The Effect
Aspiration sessions with city firms genuinely help bridge the gap and show families the possible career paths available.
“Very grateful for the opportunity for my son to have this brilliant opportunity. The guy spoke about maths and that really helped me understand the benefits you can gain through working hard now.”
– Father of pupil in Year 6.
Big thanks to volunteers at LCH for your time and engagement: Nii Barnor, Shefali Chandran, Ronald MacEachern, Natasha Kinash, Philip Papasavvas, Marcus Wyatt, Anthony Thomas, Christian Kjaeldgaard, Sandra Forder, Richard Parsons, and Kerry Hart. Additionally, a big thank you to Sophia Litras for organising the event.
School-Home Support breaks down barriers to learning. We do whatever it takes to ensure vulnerable children are in school and ready to learn. If you’d like to make a difference to the social mobility of children and young people, please contact emma.mortoo@shs.org.uk or call 020 7426 5009.