Verve Foundation, the not-for-profit dedicated to diversifying UK financial services, has launched a recruitment platform to help connect entry-level candidates with financial services firms.
Cathi Harrison, CEO & Founder of the Verve Foundation said, “I regularly hear that we need to attract more people to finance, but I always say, whenever we open a training programme or a graduate hire, we have hundreds of applications.
Plenty of people want to choose a career in finance; they just struggle to find the companies that will give them that first foot in the door. The Careers in Finance platform is designed to solve this”.
Candidates who have completed one of the Verve Foundation programmes are also identified on the platform giving employers an additional layer of confidence in those candidates’ background and preparation.
The platform has been launched in partnership with Striver, an Australian company which is also working hard to fix the talent issues overseas.
Their CEO Alisdair Barr said: “Striver has spent thirteen years on a single mission: growing the next generation of financial advisers so that quality advice reaches more people – seeing the software we’ve built in pursuit of that goal now powering the Verve Foundation’s work in the UK is exactly the impact we set out to create.”
The launch comes as UK financial services faces many challenges, with consolidation ripples playing out and AI beginning to have an impact.
The Foundation has funded 167 people to start their qualifications and move into a career in finance since launching in 2021, with more than 70% female participation – against a sector average of around 20%.
“As a not for profit, the recruitment fees charged go straight back into the Foundation, allowing us to provide more training places and more people getting a shot at a career they never thought was for them.
It’s a virtuous circle that we hope will be another step in the direction of building out a thriving profession.” – Cathi Harrison
Since launch, the platform has had 60 firms register, over 50 candidates building their profiles and a dozen jobs posted.
The platform can be accessed here careersinfinance.co.uk is free for candidates (permanently), and open to anyone building a career in financial services.
Firms pay an annual access fee (waived if they sign up in the next 3 months) plus £750 per successful hire but to mark the launch, firm registration fees have been waived until 1 August 2026.
By comparison, a traditional recruitment agency typically charges 20–25% of a hire’s first-year salary – allowing employers to save up to £6,000 on an entry level hire.
The waived registration offer runs until 1 August 2026 by inputting the code FREELAUNCH at sign up.
About Verve Foundation
Verve Foundation is a fully independent UK not-for-profit, founded in 2021 by Cathi Harrison to diversify and sustain the financial services profession.
Its programmes (New Talent and New Business) are free to participants and funded through sponsorship and commercial activity. Lead sponsor for 2026 is Royal London.
You can learn more from the Foundation’s website here: vervefoundation.co.uk.
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