Episode 09 of the NewIn Podcast, hosted by Cathi Harrison alongside Ilana Miller, brings together two guests with very different starting points but a shared message: financial services needs people from all backgrounds, and the industry is richer when it welcomes them in.
Gerard, now a branch manager at Skipton Building Society in Glasgow, doesn't shy away from sharing where he started. A difficult childhood, constant moves around the country, and leaving school at 16 with no qualifications could easily have closed doors before they opened. Instead, Gerard worked his way through retail and pub jobs, eventually talking his way into a cashier role at a bank - armed with nothing but a new shirt, a tie, and determination.
Twenty-five years later, having climbed from cashier to branch manager, Gerard is now studying towards becoming a financial adviser through our New Talent programme. His advice to others? Don't underestimate the power of "insider knowledge" and a champion who believes in you before you believe in yourself.
As an employer, Gerard now actively seeks out candidates with retail and hospitality backgrounds - not because they've passed the most exams, but because they know how to hold a conversation and read a room. In his words: "I'm not looking for the smartest person in the room."
The second half of the episode shifts gears entirely, as Cathi speaks with Shiven, a 17-year-old student who has already written his own financial literacy handbook for teenagers. His message is refreshingly direct: financial services is drowning in jargon, and schools teach money through the lens of risk and threat rather than opportunity.
Shiven argues that reframing conversations from "this is what's being taken from you" to "this is what's being invested in your future" could transform how young people engage with money. He also makes a strong case for work experience and shadowing over yet another insight webinar, which quickly become repetitive after the first few.
Whether you left school with no qualifications or you're 17 and already ahead of the curve, this episode is a reminder that financial services benefits from diverse voices, lived experience, and a willingness to ask questions. Sometimes the best advisers aren't the ones who knew all the answers - they're the ones who knew how to ask.
Hear the full conversation on the NewIn Podcast - available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.
The NewIn podcast is brought to you with thanks to Royal London, Lead Sponsor of the Verve Foundation.
