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Chief People Officer Katherine Easter at the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has highlighted during National Inclusion Week the “enormous value” in supporting underrepresented talent kickstart their careers in the pensions industry. 

The PPF recruited three interns for the six-week placements after partnering with the 10,000 Interns Foundation, which aims to champion underrepresented talent and promote equity of opportunity

Katherine Easter, Chief People Officer at the PPF, said: “We’re so grateful to our three interns for all their hard work during their summer internships, and we hope this has provided a solid foundation as they embark on their new careers. Supporting people from underrepresented groups brings enormous value to the sector by increasing diversity of thought and welcoming new talent into the industry. We will continue to provide these development opportunities which help change our organisation for the better.

Isaac Ajala, who interned at the PPF, said: “I really enjoyed my time in the Legal team at the PPF. Other than gaining an overview of Pensions as a legal practice area, I have been performing legal research, produced a summary of a government announcement, and reviewed the PPF’s governance structure.”

The internships also provided opportunities for PPF employees to develop their line management skills and build collaboration across the business. As part of its Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, the PPF set itself goals to recruit more people from underrepresented groups at junior levels, nurture talent and provide consistent development opportunities. 

Stephanie Williamson, Interim Managing Counsel at the PPF, said: “In addition to being a hugely rewarding experience to support new legal talent, the PPF’s participation in the 10,000 Interns program was also valuable for my own career growth and experience. It presented many opportunities for me to develop my people and team management skills, as well as building new collaborative relationships and sharing learnings with other industry leaders.”

The PPF also works with Investment 20/20, an initiative to help talented young people gain access to the investment industry through apprenticeships, and supports the Diversity Project which champions a more inclusive culture in the savings and investment sector.

 

Ends

Notes to editors  

About the PPF

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is a public corporation, set up by the Pensions Act 2004, and has been protecting members of eligible defined benefit (DB) pension schemes across the UK since 2005. The PPF is run by an independent Board and accountable to Parliament through the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions. It protects close to 9 million members belonging to more than 5,000 pension schemes. If an employer collapses and its DB pension scheme cannot pay members what they were promised, the PPF pays compensation for their lost pensions. The PPF is funded by a levy charged to eligible schemes, the return on its investments, assets from pension schemes transferred into the PPF, and recoveries from insolvent employers.

The PPF is one of the UK’s largest asset owners with over £32 billion of assets under management. Separate and additionally to the PPF, it also administers the Fraud Compensation Fund (FCF), and the government’s Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS). It looks after nearly 440,000 members across PPF and FAS.    

For further press information contact:
PPF Press Office
020 8406 2107
[email protected]
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