Powering up the talent chain

We have launched our social mobility report, Powering up the talent chain, created in collaboration with the Social Mobility Pledge, founded by Justine Greening MP. The Pledge team selected us for the report in recognition of our best practice approach.

We have created specific programmes, in collaboration with charities, that target school leavers and individuals who have been out of a job for an extended period of time with the aim of creating real change. We are also a UK Living Wage employer, and this extends to our interns and apprentices – ensuring these routes are accessible for those without household wealth behind them.

From school to employment

Our charity partnership with Career Ready focuses on building skills and confidence in young people to break down barriers they may face when leaving school and moving into employment.

In the Report we hear from Charley, who joined us on an internship through Career Ready while still at school and then secured a placement on our school leavers employment programme. Charley talks about being accepted for who she was, loving what she did for the first time, and how she wouldn’t be the person she was today if it wasn’t for the company.

Carly's story

Carly explains the positive impact of our school leaver employment programme on her confidence and career prospects

Support at all life stages

Supporting social mobility is not just about early career programmes, it’s also about supporting communities and individuals through their lives. We provide employment opportunities for people later in their careers – such as people transitioning from the military in to a civilian career, or those who’ve been out of work for a while, for example to raise a family or overcome a health issue, and need help to return.

We also support community programmes that intervene earlier in peoples’ lives helping children living in poverty or building life skills at an early age.

Hear from Sandy

Sandy discusses our approach to tackling social mobility.

What happens next?

We hope by sharing our insight and experience, we inspire other companies to play their part and identify opportunities for collaboration. Lord Bird MBE sponsored the report and hosted its launch in Westminster, where he set out a challenge for us and other companies to support those who are furthest from employment and have the most barriers to overcome, such as ex-offenders. A key next step we are taking is leading a financial services taskforce on social mobility.

To find out more about our commitments as a sustainable business, visit our corporate sustainability pages