Leaders In Community, a youth led charity in Tower Hamlets has had an extraordinary year with our flagship leadership programme, Be.Leaders, for 16 – 19-year-olds. Despite all the constraints and complications of lockdowns, Leaders in Community were able to offer ten young people work experience placements at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

The placements have been instrumental in young people’s increase in confidence and self-esteem. They were able to spend a week at the company’s building and gain valuable exposure to the corporate world.  Programmes like ours offer a head start, particularly for young people that are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), who would otherwise may not have access to the networks and opportunities these placements bring.

We’d like to share some words from one of our young leaders, Hamza Hussein, who attended the placement:

“I started my first day of a two-week internship at BNP Paribas Asset Management at their London Headquarters. I was placed in the Investments division focusing on the trade of European Equities. I was based on the 7th floor of 5 Aldermanbury Square.

My first day was spent being inducted into the team getting my own desk and multi-screen set up from which to work off. My supervisor who headed my division gave me an introductory talk on the firm and the basics of market economics as it applies to asset management.

The following day I met other members of the team. The office was in a mixed working phase with staff rotating into the office for a few days a week. It was a great insight to hear individual perspectives of the team members who all taught me something unique about the industry and the wider world of work.

Day to day I worked on the project set to me by my team which was to research the economics of green hydrogen as an investment case. In simple terms this meant collecting data about the market for green hydrogen as a commodity and the growth potential of the product in the future.

Green hydrogen for those who don’t know simply refers to the process of extracting hydrogen without producing any harmful emissions. The project was challenging in a good way and allowed me to test my knowledge and it culminated in me writing up an investment case and pitching to the team.

Some notable experiences included sitting in on an investment meeting, being taught by my supervisor and attempting to carry an overfilled mug to my desk without getting coffee everywhere.

One of the best parts of the internship was lunch. Getting to eat at some of the nicest spots in the city or eating on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral was amazing.

The whole experience was highly educational, enjoyable and I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity. A huge thank you to the team at Leaders in Community and everyone I worked with at BNP Paribas.

– Hamza Hussain, age 16