Citi bank joins our drive to help young by taking five apprentices

5 October 2012

One of the world’s biggest banks today signed up to the Standard’s Ladder for London campaign with a pledge to take on five apprentices for a year.

US finance giant Citi, which has its European headquarters in Canary Wharf, said it had been so impressed by the “very worthwhile initiative” it had decided to get directly involved.

Maurice Thompson, who heads Citi’s UK operations, said he was “very excited” about the bank’s role in the campaign.

The apprentices will work between 32 and 40 hours a week in the bank’s operations and technology division in Canary Wharf, learning the vital IT skills that support a global financial services group.

Mr Thompson said: “They will work alongside seasoned professionals receiving comprehensive training and learning more about how the City of London works. Hopefully it will give them a real chance to embark on a successful career path.”

They will also spend one day a week at college pursuing GNVQ level three courses.

The apprentices, who will start “as soon as possible” will be provided by the Standard’s campaign partner City Gateway, which trains hundreds of jobless young Londoners every year.

The commitment from Citi, which employs 7,000 people in London and 10,000 in the UK as a whole, is just the latest example of London employers’ huge response to the Standard’s appeal to help unemployed young Londoners.

It follows similar offers to take on apprentices from City rivals Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Scotland. So far more than 600 companies have expressed interest in taking apprentices and 112 places for jobless young Londoners have already been confirmed. A spokesman for Tower Hamlets-based City Gateway said: “We’re delighted by the response.”

About 120,000 young people aged 16 to 24 — roughly one in four — are unemployed in London.

Mr Thompson said that the bank would “absolutely” consider taking on some of the apprentices as permanent employees and would also look at enlarging the scheme.

He added: “Training young people and engaging them in the world of work is critical for the future of London. Citi strongly supports this initiative and looks forward to working with our new colleagues. Citi has been committed to programmes like this for a long time, it is a fundamental part of what we do.”