Widening worlds and creating brighter futures: Nomura’s aspiration day
News article from April 6, 2017
School-Home Support’s aspiration session at international bank Nomura was a big hit with children and parents! A group of eight children and six parents spent the morning at the Nomura offices, learning all about the business and hearing stories from staff about they got their jobs.
Firstly, we did slow (rather than speed!) networking. Children and parents spent quality time with staff who shared their stories, talking about their experience of school and how they came to work at Nomura. Conversations with people who work in business are hugely inspiring for children and their parents, and the families really enjoyed this. Nomura volunteers worked really hard and did a great job connecting with parents and encouraging and challenging children in equal measure – boys who aspire to be footballers need a Plan B and girls who are good at Maths should aim high! Slow networking created genuine connectivity with children and their mums, giving them a chance to really get to know Nomura staff and understand that “normal people, like us, work in places like Nomura.” The session was a real opportunity for the families we support to understand and, more importantly, believe that a job at Nomura is within their reach. In the words of one mum, Sylvia, who came along, “A job in the city can be part of their world.”
A tour of the building included a walk around the garden (who knew that Nomura had a kitchen garden and that produce grown there is used in the kitchen?), a view of the trading floor from the bridge, and the impressive Nomura gym.
Finally, we were treated to lunch on the 11th floor where Nomura hosts clients. The children talked about their aspirations with Nomura staff, surprising their mums with their new ambitions in many cases! Coaching the children to think beyond their initial ideas was very successful – as they made their way back to school for the afternoon, the chatter in the Nomura lifts was all about aiming high!
THANK YOU, NOMURA!
Tejhuan’s mum: “I am really glad I came this morning, at first I wasn’t keen it felt a bit daunting, but it’s been great to be here with my son and see him enjoy this experience.”
Rafeeg, aged 10: “From today, I’ve learnt you have to always try your best in everything you do, if you don’t you won’t always succeed and if you can’t make it for your dream, you need to know other stuff.”
Jonathan, aged 10: “My favourite thing is the garden and the studio, today was fun, it was really fun, it was all really fun. Elena was really nice and I love it that my mum can come today.”
Ciara, aged 10: “My dream is to be someone who works in a bank, because you have a degree in maths and I love maths… and also art… maths is my best subject!”
Jo, aged 10: “There’s all sorts of jobs in a bank, and if you work hard at school, you can do any of them!”
Silvia, Ciara’s mum, thought the session was really important for families like her own:
Allen, Nomura: “It was a very rewarding experience and I hope all the children and their mother’s got something from it and enjoyed their time. They all should be proud of themselves and are acredit to their school and family. Definitely, I hope it has given them hope that this kind of place is not outside of their reach and goals.”
Gbolahan, Nomura: “I really enjoyed my time explaining what Investment Banking is to some primary school children and their parents. It was great for the children to realise the different job opportunities available to them in the future within a bank and to see that they were genuinely appreciative of our time. Hopefully we’ll see some of them at Nomura in the near future!”