Why Livery Companies support excellence in education 22nd April 2010

Immediate Past Master, Peter Goudge, and I were fortunate enough to be invited to the dinner given by the Lord Mayor as Chancellor of City University. The Marketors' Trust has recently made a substantial donation to Cass Business School (part of City University) to fund a new scholarship for an MBA student.

Why do Livery Companies support education through prizes and scholarships and the like?
"We water the seeds already planted knowing that they hold future promise....We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities."

You only have to look at the league tables of international financial centres to see that one of the top drivers of success is having a diverse population of skilled and experienced professionals from a wide range of service industries in one place. Such a population needs to be constantly supplied with new talent, qualified from the best professional institutions and universities. City University is one of those, focussing on business, law, engineering and mathematical sciences, journalism, informatics, music and social, community and health sciences. It has strong links with industry, an enviable record of placing graduates in good careers and an international culture.

In our small way, we are enablers of one of the critical success factors of the City of London.