The answer to that question for most of us has probably been “learning by doing”.  If you get the right job that puts you in a role where you get the opportunity to deal close-up with technology, you can be a step up the ladder from other colleagues.  If a senior manager happens to have a bit of spare time to explain not just what you need to do with the firm’s technology  but maybe why the firm is using that technology in the first place, young employees can get a much better sense of direction and start to think bigger.  But getting senior people to spend time with you is never easy, and getting the opportunity to attend outside training is becoming a rarity.

Back in the early 1990s, when I was running the DAX Index for Deutsche Boerse, I looked out for educational opportunities for some of the brightest sparks in my team (they are managing directors now).  One of the education providers that I found was the UK-based Securities Institute, which provided education for continuous development as well as testing for qualifications for people in the securities industry internationally.  Since then, the Securities Institute has become the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (www.cisi.org).

The CISI today continues that role of providing education and continuous development and has over 40,000 individual members in around 90 countries.  It plays a key role in helping young employees who are studying for professional qualifications to understand better how the securities sector works – including running seminars on how technology is shaping securities operations in financial institutions with senior managers from major financial institutions sharing their experience and their views.  The next seminar for students is after work on 26 February in London.  Worth checking out!