The new president of a local branch of an influential financial institute says he will focus on engaging with young people to try and encourage more fresh talent into the sector.
Roger Jackson, who is director of financial planning at Financial Management Bureau in Kendal, has been appointed president of its Chartered Insurance Institute.
Not all towns have a local institute, but Kendal has been active in the organisation for many years.
Roger, who is already an active member of the Personal Finance Society – a chapter within the institute – says his focus will be on continuing his work to engage with young people and attract them into the sector, as well as encouraging other members to do the same.
His own career began when staff from FMB came into Dallam School to judge a Dragons’ Den style pitch he was involved in as a student. He then decided not to go to university but got a job at FMB which allowed him to study at the same time.
His work with the PFS has involved speaking to students at 60 universities over the last two years to let them know more about the sector and career paths they could take. He also works with London Southbank University, where he will be delivering modules over the next two months.
“The PFS have lots of links to universities and they try and bring in some of the more active members of the business community when they need a flavour of what everyday work looks like,” said Roger.
His voluntary outreach activity for the PFS has also involved work with Lancaster University, as well as taking part in careers events and mock interviews at local schools in South Cumbria.
Roger says he wants young people to understand university is not the only route they can take.
“We’ve got a bit of an issue in the industry, which is there’s not as many new members joining as we might like and your stereotype financial planner is probably mid-fifties, male and white,” Roger said.
“We recognise that we need to generate more interest among younger people from different backgrounds who may not study at university. The CII are building relationships with educational institutions to try and get this across.
“I’ll also be using my tenure as president to encourage other members to forge links with schools and education to try and spread the message even more widely in the area.”
Roger says he will also be working to ensure a fair representation of different elements of the financial world.
“Historically there’s been very little personal finance work done by the Kendal Insurance Institute and it’s been dominated by general insurance,” he said.
“One of my big agendas will also be to push representation of personal finance in the branch and make sure that is reflected in continuing professional development, as well as in board membership.”
