The latest in the JAI Occasional Lecture Series was hosted by Pioneer Investments Management Ltd and enabled Minister Simon Harris, T.D., and Anindya Roy, Accenture to share their views on the future of the financial services industry and stimulate some very interesting exchanges with JA-invited guests from the sector this week.
In welcoming everyone to Pioneer Investments, Robert Richardson, CEO, underlined his belief in the value of the work being done by his staff in volunteering with Junior Achievement and the critical nature of the work to promote financial literacy being championed by all the organisations represented at the breakfast briefing.
Minister Harris articulated the vision for the sector set out in the IFS2020 strategy. In a wide-ranging address the Minister thanked all of the organisations represented for their investment in promoting financial literacy among the next generation and reinforced the value of enabling young students to participate in entrepreneurship education. “Such experiences allow young people to develop skills, including the need for resiliency in dealing with disruption, which will play an ever-greater role in the world of work and particular in this dynamic sector” he said. The Minster highlighted the goals of the working group on skills as a key part of the implementation of IFS Strategy 2020, and in chairing that group, he underlined his commitment to ensuring Ireland is well-placed to capitalise on opportunities in this industry into the future. He finished by welcoming the opportunity to hear the insights of industry leaders and the factors they see as priorities in terms of maintaining/ building the conditions for success, including developing future talent.
Anindya Roy, Managing Director, Financial Services, Accenture followed the Minister’s address by offering some fascinating views on the future, and enthralled the audience with descriptions of new approaches to business in line with the emergence of the ‘internet of me’ and ‘the internet of things’. He posited that the digital revolution and its impact on business intelligence/ data analytics and global trends in financial services is becoming clearer, as is the need to ensure students coming through now are well-equipped to make a positive contribution by faciliating opportunities for them to participate in programmes like JA. There were several interesting observations and comments generated, which led to an enjoyable exchange of views.
Before introducing the JA ‘graduates’ from Scoil Caitriona, Coolock, Helen Raftery, CEO, JAI, invited all attendees to consider the rate of change in the world of work as we know it and to review the data available on the impact of early-stage entrepreneurship.
To round off a very enjoyable morning, Allanah, Moya, Katie, Sinead & Aisling from Ms McCarry’s 4th class joined the meeting to explain the fundamentals of business. The students were fantastic and did their business volunteer Sinead Fitzpatrick from Fedex proud. The Minister kindly stepped in to award the young students their certificates for completing the Our Nation programme and the students then enjoyed a well-earned breakfast overlooking the Liffey courtesy of our hosts.
In closing, Helen thanked the representatives from over 20 organisations for their attendance, our guest speakers, Anindya Roy and Minister Harris for their stimulating addresses, and Rob & his team for hosting the event.