A survey on career-related learning on school-age children found little difference between those in primary and secondary school, with most primary school children basing their career ambitions on people they know.
The survey, in which more than 13,000 UK schools took part, is the result of a collaboration between the charity Education and Employers, Tes, UCL Institute of Education, the National Association of Head Teachers and the OECD.
The key findings are astounding. The difference in career aspiration between a five and 17-year-old is marginal, yet 36 per cent of seven-year-olds base their career aspiration on people they know. A further 45 per cent are motivated for career choice by TV or film.
So applying that to the financial planning profession, early exposure to the profession, even just knowing it is there, can be extremely beneficial.
Lacking representation
As FTAdviser reported, only 6 per cent of advisers are under 30-years-old in the relatively small pool of 43,326 regulated retail advisers. By contrast the Central Council of Accounting Bodies has around 275,000 members within the UK and Ireland, and the British Education Suppliers Association states there are 624,520 teachers.
So, by comparison to other professions, it is unlikely that the next generation know a financial planner or adviser in the first place.
But if they do by chance know an adviser – what does the professional landscape look like?
Only 17 per cent of certified financial planners are women, according to our data, and only 6 per cent of advisers are under 30, with the average age of a financial adviser quoted by many sources as being 58.
Ethnicity data is a challenge, but it is commonly accepted that financial planning is a white collar, middle class profession. For the wider financial services profession, according to FTSE 100 companies, 62 per cent of board members are white males and they occupy 84 per cent of executive directorships, according to the DiversityQ FTSE 100 Board Diversity Report 2020.
Imagine the immediate impact on creating a diverse workforce within our profession if when these kids finally found out about financial planning, this is what they see.
How many financial planners feature in the TV programme The Only Way is Essex or even my nine-year-old's go-to, The Inbestigators? Even the online game Roblox has a bank but no adviser.
'Fintokers' have exploded on TikTok but to my knowledge, only Poku Banks has mentioned a career in financial planning.
Encouraging solutions
So many organisations, professional bodies and of course the FTAdviser Promote Your Profession campaign are all trying to find ways to encourage new entrants to our profession.
The government’s levelling up agenda has huge implications for educational initiatives for many professions; the ambition is to spread opportunity more equally and to those living in communities who need it the most. One of the most fundamental aspects of this is access to education.
The CISI is working with local councils and schools in some of the identified areas to provide young people with not only the access to a career in financial services, but also the aspiration to choose it as a viable career path.
