Page - (000117) - in Knowledge and Networks

109 edged to be an important set of activities inculcating new-graduate hires into the meanings, cultures, and beliefs that legitimate certain forms of technical know-how. Indeed, one interviewee put it very strongly, arguing that the technical know-how of quantitative fi nance in isolation was “irrelevant to your career” ( Investment bank analyst, City of London, London, June 2008). This suggests that postgraduate edu- cation plays an important role in allowing new early-career elites to learn the cul- tural meanings surrounding the implementation of technical know-how in ways deemed legitimate and appropriate by colleagues, clients, and rival banks within the City of London. As the following interview summarized: You obviously need the theoretical background but something I’ve always experienced is that you have a theoretical background in something so principled, you then have the tech- nical professional [knowledge] in a particular issue but it is almost impossible to remember that without the practical application as well. So I think they need to be very closely aligned and you can’t really have one without the other—things that are really important in the workplace like presentation skills, soft skills, knowing how to approach a client and how to address them. ( Investment bank president, London, September 2006) Two elements of the way in which postgraduate education inculcates elites into the legitimated form of socioeconomic practice in the City are particularly impor- tant in this respect. First, education is essential in reproducing the discourse of client service that is a longstanding component of City-specifi c legitimate socioeconomic activity. This form of embodied know-how resonates in some ways with the empha- sis on client service important in discourses of “ gentlemanly capitalism” (see Anderson-Gough, Grey, & Robson, 2000 ; Clark & O’Connor, 1997 ; Thrift, 1994 ). Evidence of this was frequently commented on, with the following example being indicative: I think in general, one of the biggest skill sets that’s required is client facing skills. Just the ability to communicate clearly and concisely ( Investment bank vice president, London, October 2006). While socialization into client service is partially achieved through observing more senior colleagues, postgraduate education also plays an important part, with education providers devising innovative teaching techniques to facilitate this form of learning, often also including elements of observation. Of particular importance in this respect is the use of simulations, in which client-facing situations are enacted in the classroom using actors and fi nance fi rm senior employees. Education provid- ers seek to offer participants opportunities to learn about the meanings and compe- tencies associated with commercially sensitive client advice through a combination of observation (of both actors and more senior colleagues) and feedback provided after the simulation by the educators themselves and senior colleagues. Postgraduate education is also important because it informs new recruits about legitimated meanings and competencies associated with City practice by inculcat- ing them into specifi c organizational and corporate cultures referred to by Erica Schoenberger ( 1997 ) as the “ social conventions” within fi rms. These include infor- mal know-how about acceptable workplace behavior and shared interpretations of the regulatory norms of London’s fi nancial district The importance of this aspect of 6 (Post)graduate Education Markets and the Formation of Mobile Transnational…