Co-operation Ireland teams up with Morgan Stanley to offer Ground Breaking Youth Initiative

Global Investment Bank Morgan Stanley joined up with Co-operation Ireland to give a group of young people from Belfast, Dublin and London an opportunity to participate in a unique programme of events, with potentially life changing results.

This week (5&6 July) the bank flew six young people from Belfast and Dublin to their head offices in London’s Canary Wharf where they were joined by seven London students. For two days the group learned not only about the financial services industry, but also a range other career opportunities, networking and personal development skills.

This initiative hopes to inspire young people by broadening their horizons, and showing the potential opportunities available to them if they stay within the education system and refrain from engaging in anti-social behaviour - reiterating the importance of diversity, especially in the workplace.

The programme which was jointly designed by Morgan Stanley’s Net-Éire Irish Network and Co-operation Ireland has been tailored to the specific needs of the young people and it will include both social and more formal sessions. The attendees also had the opportunity to meet senior Irish people within the bank to hear their stories and experiences. These included Michael O'Toole and Paula Smith, both Managing directors at the financial services firm, who were joint sponsors of the event.

“We were very pleased to link up with Co-operation Ireland on this project” said Paula, who is from Belfast originally. “As a Firm we are committed to giving something back to our communities and this is a great opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of a group of young people”.

In Northern Ireland the young people were selected from De La Salle School in West Belfast, Grosvenor School in East Belfast along with students from Ballyfermot’s Youth Service and St Dominic’s School in Dublin. Some of those participating do not ‘fit’ comfortably into the schools system but do possess leadership potential, and most of them would never get the opportunity to go on such a programme, nor are likely to ever consider a career in financial services or overseas. It is hoped that the participants will go back into their peer groups and show them the opportunities available to them.

Dr Alan Largey who runs the project at Co-operation Ireland said, “We are thrilled at the way in which Morgan Stanley has demonstrated their commitment to supporting our peace-building work. Their active participation shows the young people that their needs are being taken seriously. The programme was a real opportunity for this group, and we hope they reap the benefits”.