Professional Pathways Series | Classroom to Boardroom Foundation

Our upcoming 2024 Gen Z Hiring Report identified 86% of respondents were more likely to consider a career in their desired professional field if they had been given the education about career opportunities whilst at school. Knowing of this knowledge-gap, the purpose of the series is to drive awareness of what a career in the Private Markets sector can offer and importantly to increase the access and opportunity to successful role models in the industry for our attendees. Professional Pathways directly supports young people from the Foundation’s network, all of whom are from underrepresented backgrounds, and students who attend schools that fit into one (or more) of these categories:

• 35%+ of their students eligible for free school meal
• Ofsted rating of 3 or 4
• Deprivation cold spot across the UK based on post code

Across the two days, we welcomed more than 220 students between the ages of 16-19 years, to spend a day learning about all aspects to working in either Private Credit or Private Equity. We are ever so grateful to our sponsors for sharing their much-valued time, insights and perspectives with these highly ambitious students. With thanks to Private Credit

• Arcmont Asset Management
• Ares Management
• CVC
• Oak Hill Advisors
• Park Square Capital

Private Equity

• Advent
• CVC
• General Atlantic
• Hg
• PSP Investments

'During both the Professional Pathway events, I gained newfound relationships which will help me in the long run. Furthermore, all the Dartmouth staff hosting the event were welcoming and very happy to help everyone. Overall, the event benefited me in so many ways and I am so happy Dartmouth and Classroom to Boardroom hosted this event. I would recommend everybody, either interested in finance or not, to apply.'  Obed Poto-Poto

Access to career information and learning directly from those in industry is vital to ignite career ambition in young people, enabling them to know they too can achieve a successful future in spite of their socioeconomic background, helping to reduce this divide. Our industry experts supported this by sharing their personal stories of how they broke into their respective industries from their educational backgrounds, with students getting to know speakers such as Alexis Atteslis, Co-Head of Europe at Oak Hill Advisors, and John Empson, Co-Head of Private Credit at CVC. It was also important that our speakers demystify what is easily a confusing world of fixed income and private markets for young people, helping attendees learn the differences between Private Credit and Private Equity, the nuances of different investment strategies, fund sizes and the origin of capital.

Data from our Gen Z Hiring Reports tells us that this generation engages best with active, in-person learning, and so the events in this series are centred around being as interactive as possible. This is through open panel discussions with the sponsoring firms answering pre-submitted and live questions from the attendees, covering exciting themes the students wanted to learn about including ESG, market trends, predictions for 2024 deployment and recruitment practices. Students were also able to freely network with speakers and firm representatives over the course of the day and through Dartmouth’s Early Careers hosting upskilling sessions on interview processes and the importance of building a brand and network using LinkedIn and events. Both days wrapped up with a case study session, enabling students to apply their newly learned skills and knowledge. These first two events were without a doubt a success for our students attending, giving them the opportunity to collaborate as a group, practice skillsets and build their confidence in networking and presenting - in front an audience of 100 of their peers and sponsors! The Classroom to Boardroom Foundation’s vision is to contribute to a future where someone’s economic situation while growing up does not hold them back from achieving professional and personal success. By creating the Professional Pathways series, these events will support students to better access an equal start to achieving their career goals and learning about new careers available to them. If you would like to support the Foundation in tackling socioeconomic diversity and increase young people’s access to successful futures, please reach out to us at ctbfoundation@kernel-global.com. '

It's rare to find an event that not only facilitates networking with top-tier credit professionals but also dedicates time to educating attendees on how private credit works, its growing prominence, and prevailing industry trends. The foundation excelled in creating an inclusive event that was thoughtfully tailored for participants at varying educational stages and it was great to also meet fellow like-minded peers from across the UK.' - Kavisha Patel