How Morgan Stanley Glasgow is investing in young people

Margaret Johnson, Executive Director - Human Resources, Morgan Stanley

At Morgan Stanley Glasgow we are proud of our record of enabling young people in Scotland to reach their full potential, which is why we are so pleased to have achieved the new platinum standard employer status from Investors in Young People Scotland.

We were early adopters of the Investors in Young People Scotland Accreditation, an ISO standard Accreditation which launched in Scotland in 2015 to help address youth unemployment. We adopted the ISO standard, achieving gold in every assessment. The introduction of the platinum standard in 2022 gave us an opportunity to achieve further progress and become the first financial services employer in Scotland to reach this new milestone.

We wanted to take the opportunity to share some of the best practice that helped us achieve this accolade and encourage some of our industry peers to get involved with Investors in Young People Scotland.  

Firstly, our commitment to young people in Scotland is underpinned by our signature of the Scotland’s Young Person’s Guarantee, an initiative led by the Scottish Government, and our high school partnerships through Developing the Young Workforce to ensure that every young person in Scotland is offered a work opportunity. In 2022 we launched our biggest ever recruitment programme in Scotland, recruiting 75 university graduates, 25 apprentices and 104 interns, providing opportunities to a huge range of young people in a variety of roles and functions.

Our recruitment drive has been matched by our focus on creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace culture. Our Young Professionals Network has a key role to play here. Since being established in 2015, the network has played a lead role in creating and supporting training of young people in our office, ensuring a focus on meta skills listening to the needs and feedback of young people, and ensuring we are responding to the needs of our early career employees.  

During the pandemic we began collaborating with Morgan Stanley locations like Montreal and Baltimore, discussing our Young Professionals Network and the value it adds. Since then, 10 Morgan Stanley offices globally have established Young Professional Networks, replicating the model we launched in Glasgow with different tailored needs depending on the location. This growing global network allows young colleagues and emerging talent to connect with each other and with senior leaders, ask questions, and share ideas.

Our Young Professionals Network has also supported the development of our apprenticeship model. In 2015 when we achieved our first gold accreditation, we only had one apprenticeship programme. We now offer apprenticeships in four different divisions - finance, fund services, operations, and three different technology programmes – and are currently working on two more programmes with educators and universities.

Lastly, we are ensuring that our employment focus reaches disadvantaged groups who face the biggest barriers to pursuing careers in our sector. We are working closely with Career Ready on a range of initiatives for people from low income or ethnic minority backgrounds, including a mentoring programme.

Working with the Scottish Qualifications Authority we have been able to link several of our DYW initiatives to SQA accreditations such as CV writing and mock interviews. Young people can go to other businesses, and further and higher education with these accreditations and show they’ve reached a certain standard, helping with employability beyond just Morgan Stanley and in the broader Scottish economy.

We are proud of what we have achieved in Glasgow and ambitious to continue delivering for young people in the city and across Scotland.