Educational Trip to Lloyd’s

It was an auspicious start to the day when a number of intrepid travellers gathered at Belfast International Airport; bleary eyed but excited to be heading to London for a day that promised to be both educational and interesting.

Excitement and enthusiasm were high and there was not a little drama as two of the passengers realised that they had committed the faux pas of not pre-booking their seats, so it was a case of “will they won’t they”, but nerves held out and all the assembled party boarded as planned.

On arrival in London the group were met by Nick Plastow, Training Operations Manager at the Chartered Insurance Institute, who give a very comprehensive tour of both Aldermanbury and the City before all were shepherded to Lloyd’s, the focus and highlight of the visit.

By any standards this is a fascinating building with an equally fascinating history. The place was a hive of activity with, as you would suspect, the main trading floor running at a frenetic pace.

Tom McGrath CBE, had kindly arranged to meet the young members here and was able to give an overview made all the more interesting as he regaled the party with his own personal experiences of working at Lloyd’s.

After the educational aspect of the tour was over some people made a dash for another world famous building…. Harrods beckoned…while for others retail therapy did not appeal and so it was therapy of a different kind as they convened in Willy’s Wine Bar to charge their glasses and discuss the merits of the day.

Sarah Macauley from NFU observed:

“The trip was a fantastic experience and I would highly commend it to anyone who is offered the opportunity to attend. I found the content of the tours to be very informative and useful in providing historical background to the industry where I am basing my career.”

A big thank you has to be extended to Martin McRandall ACII, Education Secretary, who managed to successfully steer everyone there and back again despite being geographically challenged on a couple of occasions!