The Academy was delighted to partner with Successful Mums Professional Network to co-host an event yesterday, held at St. James’s Place’s London Lombard Street offices, which was attended by 30 women who were looking at returning to the workplace after a career break and new career options.

Jane Knight, the Founder of Successful Mums said: “This friendly, informal and professional event offered an exciting opportunity for our members to learn about the St. James’s Place and their Academy career change programme to become a qualified financial planner. A fantastic opportunity to start a new flexible career and very attractive as no previous financial services experience is required.”

Dame Helena Morrissey DBE, founder of the 30% Club which campaigns for gender-balanced boardrooms and a Non-Executive Director of St. James’s Place, gave an inspiring speech, empowering guests to take their next step to re-engage with the workplace.

The event was also supported by other guest speakers: Sally Lovell, St. James’s Place People and Development Trainer who presented a valuable session on confidence and transferable skills, and ex-Academy graduate, Emily Man, a St. James’s Place Partner, who shared her Academy journey experience whilst being a mum with the guests.

Jane Knight also talked about the value of the skills that women gain from being a parent, and how to feel confident about the return to work and re-training.

Chris Gray, Executive Academy Engagement Manager with St. James’s Place, said “This event addressed the entrepreneurial spirit of women. We are delighted that a third (36%) of our current Academy recruits across the various Academy programmes are women and this is growing year-on-year. It’s substantially more than the national average of women on provide financial advice in the UK; the need for face-to-face financial advice is increasing and there is a demand for more women to deliver that advice. Our relationship with Successful Mums will enable us to promote that message to their members.”

For further information about Successful Mums, visit https://www.successfulmums.co.uk

If you’re interested in hearing about how we can support you with a career change, then please contact us