I was recently invited to attend the CISI Liverpool & North Wales Annual Dinner that was being held at the Crown Plaza in Liverpool, on 22nd May 2014. The dress code for the dinnerwas black tie which meant I had a chance to dust down my dinner suit and clip on my dickie bow! As the majority of attendees would all be working in the financial industry, I seen it as a great opportunity to network and get to know more about working in the industry. The CISI Dinner would give me a fantastic opportunity to meet people who currently do similar jobs to what I would like to do in the future, as well as represent Rathbones. This was too good of an opportunity to turn down. This and the fact that the guest speaker was Kevin Keegan. As I'm a big red, the chance to meet a Liverpool legend was a no brainer!
I was sat on a table with the other apprentices, along with people from different companies. We were all in conversation from people from various other businesses. It was great to get an idea of the different jobs and routes people have taken in the financial industry to get to where they are today.
It took me by surprise that the people I spoke to were very easy to speak to and took the time to listen to what I, the apprentice, had to say. This opened my eyes that people of a high stature in the industry are just people, like everyone else, who have worked hard and taken the chances they have been given. The dinner has helped me realise that I am no different to anyone else that was sitting in that room. It has opened my eyes to what I am capable of achieving. As the Rathbonesapprenticeship is a great way for me to be introduced to the financial industry, it is down to me to take this starting platform and continue the progression after the apprenticeship is finished, and I am very confident in doing so.
During the dinner, numerous members of the CISI gave presentations and our apprenticeship actually received quite a significant mention. It was good to know that people outside of Rathbones are appreciating the success of the apprenticeship so far. I think it may have opened other companies eyes to starting similar schemes, as the attending company representatives were made aware of our progress. I think a few where quite impressed!
Overall, the meal was a huge success! I met some big figures in the financial industry. I had a chat with Kevin Keegan about Liverpool’s most recent season and how we will progress from there. This was followed up by a photo and an autograph, obviously. I am now very much looking forward to next years dinner.
