Check out your Company Bowl for anonymous work chats.
As an organisation committed to being a workplace that works for all, it’s fantastic to have our efforts recognised by one of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ charities, Stonewall. Following our first Workplace Equality Index assessment at the end of 2021, OSTC Group has been awarded silver status accreditation in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index 2022 for our commitment to the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people in the workplace. While there’s still work to be done, the accolade is testament to the gradual change and impact we’re having. #BeingLGBTQAtWork
OSTC has long been committed to creating a fair and diverse working environment. Today we’re delighted to announce that we’re the proud owners of the Level 1 ‘Disability Confident Committed’ certificate, reflecting our dedication to proactively attracting disabled talent through the @Evenbreak job board. Disability Confident is a government funded scheme that provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace. They provide tools, guidance and advice to help companies recruit and retain from the widest possible pool of talent. This qualification is the first rung of the accreditation’s three levels of commitment ladder. And while there is still more progress to make, this is a huge step towards OSTC’s goal of eliminating structural barriers that hinder employees who may have a disability, or care for someone who has, from being able to effectively carry out their job. You can discover all the current OSTC job opportunities suitable for disabled candidates on our Evenbreak profile.
OSTC has taken another big step forward this week as CEO, Lee Hodgkinson, was appointed to the Advisory Board of the City of London Corporation’s new taskforce to improve socio-economic diversity at senior levels within UK financial and professional services. Eliminating the divide is right at the top of OSTC’s diversity agenda. Having already become a signatory to the Women in Finance Charter at the beginning of 2021, this new appointment takes our organisation even closer to helping determine another vital change for the better and creating even more of a positive impact. Commissioned by The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and HM Treasury, the new Advisory Board is made of a team of hugely enthusiastic individuals who will have oversight across all three workstreams and help to inform the taskforce’s final conclusions. You can find out more about the taskforce’s vision and who else will be joining Lee on the Advisory Board here:
OSTC is delighted to announce the launch of a pioneering new financial markets qualification, the Level 7 Diploma in Applied Financial Trading. The diploma will initially be embedded into a new MSc in Global Financial Trading at Sheffield Hallam University. This builds on our hugely successful relationship with SHU and their undergraduate BSc (Hons) Financial Trading & Investment Management programme. The world-leading course is designed to allow students to attain the highest level of professional competence in the field of financial trading, including developing the skills and knowledge needed to function competently as a derivatives trader. Those who complete it alongside the CISI integrity test will automatically become members of CISI and have the letters ACSI after their name, showing employers they’re ready to embark on a trading career within the financial markets. The course opens for applications from Thursday 1st July and starts in September 2021.
OSTC are proud to share the news that we have strengthened our commitment to gender equality even further by becoming a signatory to the Women in Finance Charter. The Charter pledges gender balance across financial services and also commits us to supporting the progression of women into senior roles across the business. We have set our targets high, with the aim of increasing our current 23.8% female representation in senior management (figure collected October 2020) to 33% by October 2023.
OSTC has taken another step forward in delivering on our commitment to supporting employee mental health and wellbeing. We’re delighted to share the news that The City Mental Health Alliance has awarded our organisation with the accreditation mark of ‘Achieving’ in its annual Thriving at Work assessment. The assessment helps organisations to measure their progress as they work to build mentally healthy workplaces. The evidence-based standards are set out in the CMHA’s Thriving at Work Guide for organisations to work towards in developing their mental health and wellbeing strategies. This year, the standards were updated to introduce the integration of mental health across the employee lifecycle, driving best practice across the ecosystem, for example through supplier engagement and a stronger focus on inclusion and diversity.
OSTC APPOINTS TIM CAMPBELL MBE TO LEAD TRADER DIVERSITY STRATEGY We’re excited to announce the appointment of former UK Government advisor, social enterprise entrepreneur and youth employment ambassador, Tim Campbell MBE. Tim’s official title is OSTC Accelerator Lead and Regional Head, Africa, and he’s already started his first commission to drive our newly created ‘Trading Futures’ talent acquisition division. ‘Trading Futures’ will initially focus on uncovering 50 of the brightest young (aged 18-25) talents from underrepresented communities across the UK, before being rolled out globally and to an even wider audience. The programme will actively look to engage those who may not have considered a trading career as a viable option, namely women, ethnically diverse groups, LGBTQ candidates, people with different abilities and those from less mobile socio-economic backgrounds.
OSTC is proud to announce the news of our partnership with Evenbreak; the award-winning portal for disabled job-seekers that is also run by people with disabilities. Evenbreak gives candidates and employers the confidence to connect in an inclusive environment, and this exciting new partnership is a vital component of OSTC’s ongoing commitment to promoting meaningful diversity across our workforce. Based in the UK and operating globally, Evenbreak will help OSTC attract more talented disabled candidates through their job board, and also support us to adopt more accessible and inclusive recruitment practices through training and consultancy. Any candidates interested in working for OSTC can find all our suitable roles at https://www.evenbreak.co.uk/en/employer/ostc
We’re hugely excited to announce OSTC’s coming together with fellow industry-leading financial training and education specialists, BG Consulting. Our organisations already share some of the world’s most respected capabilities in our sector. This venture now combines BG Consulting’s educational expertise with our pioneering ZISHI EdTech platform, both broadening our horizons with a more extensive range of products and services and accelerating our vast global deployment even further. With associates across North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, BG Consulting’s courses are designed to fit a range of training needs and learning styles. The collaboration significantly expands our activities in a large and growing addressable market.
OSTC welcomes two senior hires to newly-created roles, to head up our operations in Greater China, as well as the opening of a new Hong Kong office. Fladia Tang (pictured) joins as Country Head Greater China. Formerly at HSBC, Fladia’s role will see her assume responsibility for OSTC in the region, including growth of our global trading business, and the introduction of ZISHI’s range of financial education, AI and biometric performance improvement services. Fladia joined HSBC in 1999 and has held several roles within the organisation since, including most recently as a programme director to build out HSBC’s China wealth management subsidiary. Sammi Li joins OSTC as Head of Sales Greater China, reporting to Fladia. Most recently, Sammi served as Head of Asia at Euronext, with the remit to oversee Euronext’s expansion in Asia, with a strong focus on growth in Greater China. The focus of her role with OSTC will be on driving our sales growth of ZISHI education and cognitive technologies across the Greater China region.
