GoCardless has partnered with charity IntoUniversity 

GoCardless has proudly partnered with IntoUniversity, a charity that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Conversations began back in December 2021 and the opportunity to work with IntoUniversity seemed like a positive collaboration we could not refuse! Aligning with our diversity and inclusion strategy, ‘Reflect the Outside, Inside’, we were keen to kickstart the charity partnership by offering work experience for students. 

Although the partnership objectives are yet to be finalised, we believe providing ongoing work experience opportunities for disadvantaged young people and driving awareness around careers in Fintech is a priority and a great first step.

We brought those priorities to life around Easter when we welcomed three year-12 students to experience work in our London office for four days. 

The purpose of the experience was to gain an understanding of the different roles within GoCardless and recognise there are alternative career paths that lead into the world of Fintech. The students had the chance to meet with different departments including Sales, Marketing, Talent, Regulatory Compliance, Brand Design, Product and Engineering. They spoke to employees about the career path they had chosen and got the chance to undertake tasks that provided a ‘hands on’ experience of what it would be like to work in a particular role. One activity was to step into the shoes of a Product Manager at YouTube which involved identifying who the customer might be, looking at potential problems and the type of solutions that could be implemented.

When asked about the benefits of their work experience, the feedback was really positive! Comments ranged from, ‘it's good to see different departments so we can see what we like and what we don’t like’ to ‘everyone makes you want to work here and they really show how work is enjoyable - that’s what makes GoCardless stand out.’ 

At GoCardless, we stand and live by our values: Start with Why, Act with Integrity, Be Humble and Care Deeply. These were brought to life as the students spoke about our culture which was further endorsed when one of the students shared a momentous moment. 

‘Most importantly, my favourite thing from my work experience was the company I was surrounded by and the atmosphere you create for employees!’ 

We are pleased we are able to illustrate the importance of having a great workplace culture which seemed to resonate with the students and left a lasting impression on them!