The programme’s premise is that providing 100 internships for Black candidates each year ought to lead to a measurable increase in the number of Black portfolio managers in the long-term.
Obviously this is a positive move aimed at achieving greater representation and diversity across the fund management world, but even if firms have not signed up for this or similar schemes, there are other ways firms can achieve better diversity by making simple changes to their recruitment process.
As the CII's Ms Thomas explains, this can be done regardless of lockdown. She says: "Removing candidate names or other potential indicators of background or candidate demographics as well as technological solutions such as AI can further support reducing biased decision making and ensuring effective interviews wherever they are conducted."
By creating fairer initial application processes, more people from social and ethnically diverse backgrounds will be able to showcase their skills and expertise at interview stage.
And moving to remote interviewing with lockdown can have advantages too, especially for those candidates for whom travelling into city centres or to out-of-town office complexes may have been prohibitive.
Shaun Godfrey, head of marketing for St James's Place Academy, comments: "Remote interviews are not a new phenomenon but in future it is likely the selection process for advisers will involve a combination of virtual and face-to-face interactions, making it more flexible and allowing for changes in working patterns and practices.
"This will also offer candidates the opportunities to showcase their skills and attributes in a variety of ways."
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
