Young Investors Programme readies students for work in financial services

The University of the Western Cape (UWC) School of Business and Finance (SBF) has launched an initiative to ready business-minded students for a career in financial services.

The university launched the Young Investors Programme (YIP) was launched on 5 May after a group of UWC B.Com Honours Finance students approached the SBF after experiencing problems adapting to the workplace.

Keagan Martin, one of the students behind the initiative and a UWC BCom Finance Honours 2016 graduate, said after going for job interviews he and fellow students discovered that their level of industry knowledge was not quite as advanced as they had wanted it to be and so came up with the idea of the programme to address this.

“Being part of this exciting initiative helped me develop a sense of responsibility and understanding. I think the greatest tool students will take away from the Young Investors programme is confidence,” he said in a press release to Ventureburn.

“The finance industry is a competitive one, and the YIP is a useful means of obtaining a practical understanding of the investments industry, and an opportunity for students to see where they fit in,” said Ricardo Peters, director of UWC’s School of Business and Finance.

YIP offers students a practical understanding of investments industry

Peters explained that the challenge for students isn’t necessarily “crunching numbers” but rather to improve their soft skills and learn how to conduct themselves professionally.

Since the programme’s launch the business school has set its sights on securing finance to get YIP off the ground. Senior lecturer Warren Brown turned to Coronation, an independent investment company, which agreed to sponsor R62,500 toward the initiative.

The current YIP cohort consists of six groups of five members each, all in their third year of finance and investment studies.

For the duration of the year, the teams will attend workshops, interact with industry professionals and perform practical exercises, and select the companies they’d like to invest in.

The teams will also be reviewing various financial headlines, conducting their own company analysis and virtual trading.

Commented Peters : “We want to create activities that are aimed at enhancing the practical, personal and professional skills of the members within the programme”.

Featured image: YIP organising committee (from left to right) Sinalo Mhlauli (Secretary), Benetton Petersen (Chairperson), Yamkela Mdletye (Student Liaison), Kgomotso Makena (Treasurer), Musa Sotashe (Marketing & PR) and Lelethu Bodlani (Project Manager). (Image courtesy Nicklaus Kruger)