Lorijent Lamce first found himself walking through the doors of Macquarie's London offices in 2006 when, as a 14 year old GCSE student from Cardinal Pole School, he came to meet his business mentor, Oliver Bradley. The two had signed up and been matched through ELBA's Hackney Schools' Mentoring Programme, committing them to a year of fortnightly meetings where they'd work on developing Lorijent's career aspirations, employability skills and confidence, amongst others. Six years on, Lorijent, now a second year Law student at LSE, has found himself back in the fold at Macquarie, but this time to undertake a nine week work placement across his summer break.

"I got back in touch with my mentor Oliver when I wanted to apply for the placement", explains Lorijent, "he helped me with my application and gave me pointers on what they might be looking for." Oliver elaborates that the Macquarie placement is like a much more detailed version of work experience "it's like an extended interview and Macquarie take on students for the placement with a view to being able to offer them a job further down the line." Lorijent competed with a number of others and undertook a series of one to one interviews and psychometric and reasoning tests, to win the placement, working in the Compliance department, which, as the legal arm of the finance industry, is the perfect fit for law student Lorijent. Just a few weeks in and Lorijent already felt he'd learnt a lot at Macquarie, particularly all the terminology that goes hand and hand with the job. Oliver added "Compliance is a good area for Lorijent to get into, as it is one of the main growth areas in banking." Lorijent has another year to finish at university before he graduates but he is already keen that he might soon secure a graduate job offer from Macquarie.

Reflecting back on what part the Hackney Schools’ Mentoring Programme has played in this story, Lorijent notes, "mentoring gave me a structure, showed me how to dress for business and write a CV. It was just so useful to come and visit a guy who has a job in the City and learn from someone who I was interested in being like. It felt like it was relevant and seeing his office environment and the hours he put in was the kick I needed." And Oliver adds that mentoring is no one way street, “mentoring is important for us too. The media can portray such a negative view of banking and the City, so this contact helps show we’re not all bad! There are hundreds and thousands of bankers working in the City doing a myriad of things and it’s valuable to show the next generation what it is that we actually do.”
Furthermore Oliver explains what a big part mentoring plays within City life, “I had mentors in the past, teachers who were inspirational, but it didn’t stop there. My senior bosses at work have been my mentors and I have seen how your future progression can be shaped by having a mentor – a senior sponsor. I owe a lot of what I’ve been able to achieve in my career to my mentor”.

When asked what they’d say to other adults and students considering getting involved in mentoring, the advice is simple, “you have to want to do it” says Oliver “and enjoy working with young people” and Lorijent, “it’s not just a mentor’s job to get you motivated – as a student you have to want to attend and if you do, you’ll see the benefits. I just really enjoyed coming to my mentoring sessions, it never felt like a chore”.

So Lorijent Lamce, Macquarie mentee to hopeful employee in just six years and, should he soon find himself at Macquarie full time, he might even sign himself up as a mentor and move this success story neatly full circle.