THE BUSINESS
Berenberg is one of Europe's leading privately owned banks, focusing on the business divisions Wealth and Asset Management, Investment Banking and Corporate Banking. They combine wealth and asset management expertise to provide customers with a high-quality investment portfolio, deploying specialists in each area of advice, portfolio management and construction, as well as ESG.
With a strong presence in the financial centres of Frankfurt, London and New York, Berenberg is represented in 17 locations in Germany, Europe and the USA and employs over 1,500 people worldwide.
THE CHALLENGE
Working together to define a strategy for increasing social mobility.
Berenberg knew low socioeconomic diversity within UK financial services was a problem and, as a fast-growing leading investment bank, they wanted to help tackle it – but they weren’t sure where to start. That’s where we could help.
After working with the Berenberg team to understand their business and goals, we realised they’d benefit from a programme giving their people an opportunity to engage with the issue of social mobility and develop leadership skills, while empowering and upskilling young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. This would be an investment in their company culture, future talent, and the long-term diversity of the sector.
OUR APPROACH
Developing Berenberg's leaders through mentoring socially diverse students.
With our goal set, we developed Berenberg Journey, a long-term social mobility programme based around mentoring an annual cohort of young people from socially diverse backgrounds who aspire to work in investment banking, but don’t have the access or networks that could help them get there. The programme is now entering its fifth year.
Each year, we select 6-8 schools in London where we deliver workshops introducing Berenberg and the programme, inviting students to apply for the scheme. We match 20 high-potential young people with a Berenberg mentor – all in different roles and on different levels. We deliver a full support programme for mentors, including training, quarterly reviews and progress monitoring.
Alongside monthly mentoring sessions where students receive professional insight and support, we also deliver insight workshops and career skills programmes to further their development. The aim is to overcome barriers to entry for underprivileged school-leavers, helping them increase their prospects, shape their future, and navigate their first steps into the corporate world.
THE RESULTS
- 40 engagement workshops delivered in London schools since the programme launched
- 1,500+ young people engaged
- 350+ applications to the programme since launch
- 80 students taking part in the mentoring programme over the four years of Berenberg Journey so far
- 16 skills workshops delivered
Students have gone into apprenticeships with employers in insurance, banking and accountancy, after coaching and support from their Berenberg mentors - Other students were able to make more informed decisions about their future thanks to their mentoring
“I’m happy to say my results day went well – I got D*D*D and I am going on to do a degree apprenticeship at KPMG. Although, I do believe that without Berenberg providing me with my amazing mentor David Hogg and Visionpath even creating this programme, I maybe wouldn’t be here. From the beginning you all believed in me, which therefore allowed me to finally believe in myself.”
– Malcolm, A-level student
WHAT THE EMPLOYER SAYS
“Social mobility is an issue all of us should care about. At Berenberg, we’re excited to partner with Visionpath and – through our tailored scheme, Berenberg Journey – offer mentoring, skills and experiences to help disadvantaged young people in our communities realise their potential. It’s also been a great way to engage our employees on the topic of social mobility and increase awareness of the diversity challenges our industry faces.”
– Dave Mortlock, Managing Partner at Berenberg
Want to know how we can create and manage a bespoke apprenticeship programme for your business? Get in touch.
