The financial advice industry has an image of wealthy-only and some people are often put off from joining the sector due to this connotation.
There have been many debates and initiatives launched to increase diversity in the advice industry – but traditionally these have been surrounding gender and ethnicity.
But getting working class Brits into the advice sector is rarely discussed.
Advisers should come from all areas and backgrounds, as their different experiences help them relate to a variety of clients.
Humble beginnings
One industry veteran who worked hard to get to the top of the industry is John Cowan, interim chief executive of Sesame Bankhall Group.
Cowan told International Adviser: “I grew up in one of the poorest parts of Glasgow. My parents were classic working class people. My dad was a fireman after the war and my mum was a housewife.
“We lived in a tenement building in Glasgow. Three flats at the top of the building shared one toilet which was down a flight of stairs. The flat I lived in had no hot water or heating – but we eventually did get hot water.
“I lived there until I was 17 years old. I had no educational sense or guidance from my parents, they really had no idea about higher education – other than its value. The local bank manager was God. It was all quite intimidating.
“I did my highers in Scotland – and played around applying for university. This was the late 60s, where the world felt like it was beginning to change.
“I eventually got a job in the shipyards. I worked there for a while, and I worked for a distillers company as a coopers labourer. These are the guys that make the barrels.”
Falling into the industry
Cowan was held back from applying for jobs in many industries because he was aware that his background from the marginalised Irish Catholic community in the west of Scotland would automatically rule him out .
“What school did you attend was a regular interview technique,” he said.
Cowan added: “There were certain jobs that you couldn’t get into certain professions or industries, you couldn’t get a job, if you have some Irish Catholic background. There wasn’t a point applying for some jobs as you wouldn’t get it. This was the case for some insurance companies and banks.
“I worked at various labouring jobs until late 1968 when a friend suggested that I apply to Scottish Amicable who were looking for good people and he thought if I applied myself, but played down the Catholic background, they might take me and I could build a career. I went for the interview and got a job. I started on 6 January 1969.
“I had no idea what it was or how it worked. I had taken a while to get to that point. But I think culturally it’s really important to remember that because when we have a D&I debate, I often think about the people who are trying to get into decent jobs, about what the barriers are for them.
“I got a job in an insurance company. I had no idea about it. All the lads I worked with were all Glasgow Rangers football fans, they played golf, and some went to private schools. I was a million miles away from that. I was a sales guy that lived in a pretty grotty place.
“But I was really enthusiastic and hardworking, so I’ve always hung on to the belief that if you give the right young people a chance, they can flourish.
Barriers for working class
The barriers for working class people to enter the advice sector are still there.
They may be slightly different from when Cowan was entering the industry – but they still exist.
Cowan said: “It’s all about access. For me, I’ve always had this belief that people from working class estates, if given half a chance, will really blossom with really good mentoring and management.”
But he admitted that breaking down barriers is “genuinely quite difficult” because the majority of people that run businesses in the sector can’t quite relate to the working class background.
“Social mobility is really difficult,” Cowan said. “All you could do as an employer is have your heart in the right place, and try and reach out and do things.
“The business I work at is in a socially mixed area in Sale. We do lots of little initiatives, but it’s very small scale as we have a 300-person business. We’re reaching out by trying to give people work experience, going to schools and using social media for recruitment to try to explain what the sector is.
“I think that that can only make a difference at the edges. It’s a much more fundamental issue. In financial services, people talk about setting up academies, but that’s still not answering the question about getting to the young kids who’ve got probably no chance.
“I’m not creative enough to know the answers to this, other than giving them work experience or getting into schools.
“The demographics of the advice community is getting old. It’s not portrayed as an attractive natural sector for young, gifted people to come and join. This is a real shame because the advice sector is a very interesting area for those who like meeting people and solving financial technical problems.
“You can teach technical skills to anybody who is half bright. But you cannot put the right attitude in them. Lots of working class kids have the right attitude and outlook but it is trying to bridge the gap to tap into that great energy.”
