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Apprenticeships – why hiring diverse talent is smart business

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June 25, 2020 | SMC Admin


Apprenticeships are one of the most powerful and effective means of boosting social mobility amongst workers from less advantaged backgrounds – not only that, it’s smart business.​

 

Whether you lead a manufacturing business, a professional services firm or a creative platform, attracting and retaining a diverse talent pool is a must for any forward-thinking business. As an employer you can be a change-maker, creating paths of opportunity that will benefit your organisation. One important way in which you can do this is through apprenticeships.

Breaking down socio-economic barriers is not only a just cause, it’s also smart business.

When given a decent chance, employees from lower socio-economic backgrounds perform at least as well as their more advantaged peers, if not better. Research shows that 43% of businesses with more diverse workforces have higher profits – and apprenticeships are the cornerstone to reaching that talent early.

Individuals who start their careers via an apprenticeship are likely to stay longer, reducing recruitment costs. They also have unparalleled knowledge of your business from working their way up the ladder – and understanding your business at a grass roots level can lead to greater efficiencies.

 

So how can you hire in a smarter way, be it apprentices or employees?​

 

The Social Mobility Commission will be publishing guidance for employers this Friday, 26 June, which you will find a link to in our News & Events section. While our webinar for employers taking place later today (25 June), will include a practical workshop in which to explore ideas. For those who can’t attend, we will be publishing a link to the recording of the webinar on our microsite in the coming days.

Data drives smart recruitment, so you can also use our toolkit to measure the socio-economic background of applicants and benchmark your progress going forward. We also publish an organisation directory where you can find partners that can support you on your journey and share insights into their experiences.

While our new in-depth report – Apprenticeships and social mobility: Fulfilling potential – will help you better understand the apprenticeship landscape, barriers to success and what you, as an employer, can do to champion social mobility through apprenticeships.

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Secondment opportunity

The Social Mobility Commission is looking to appoint two secondees to join our dynamic secretariat on a 3-month secondment.  The Social Mobility Commission is an advisory arms-length body which is sponsored by the Cabinet Office. The Social Mobility Commission exists to create a United Kingdom where an individual’s future isn’t determined by the circumstances of […]

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18/05/2023

Employers play a key role in #socialmobility outcomes for many.

They determine where they set up their business, the types of job roles they create, and how and who they recruit; the income set by employers impacts living standards, pension contributions, as well as spending power in their local economy; they also play an important role in the health and wellbeing of employees.

However, with each part of the UK having an individual identity, history and economy, impacting its local population and their opportunities, the challenges to social mobility, and the solutions, may differ from region to region.

That’s where we think the use of our new #Data Explorer tool can help – join us at this event on 7 June at 12pm for employers to find out how you can utilise our new tool to understand your workforce distribution; provide insight for outreach activity and hiring activity; and to serve and support regional communities.

👇🏻 Register below.

https://lnkd.in/enhJYTHZ

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