The Lord Mayor of London Alan Yarrow was at BU to hear how Bournemouth is supporting the growth of the financial services industry.
He met with Professor John Fletcher, BU Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, and academics from the Faculty of Management alongside representatives from local financial businesses – including LV and JP Morgan – and the Borough Councils.
They took part in a roundtable discussion at BU, which covered a range of topics – including how to attract young people into the financial sector, the potential skills needed for the future, and building a talent pool in Bournemouth.
The Lord Mayor also heard about how BU prepares its accounting, finance and business students for careers in industry through placements, professional accreditations and providing transferable skills.
He said: “As the Lord Mayor of London, I have a job to promote financial services that we’re selling from around the country, and therefore I want to go and see the regions.
“I particularly wanted to come to Bournemouth because I know Bournemouth’s got an extremely good academic record actually for training people so they are job-ready.
“I wanted to come and see the university because it’s got a very good reputation for producing some extremely good students.
“The record of actually going into employment within six months of leaving university is outstanding, and I’m very glad to say that I’ve found out some of the reasons behind that and I’m most impressed.”