We’re preparing for a lot of exciting events in the coming months, including the launch of our brand new Building Blocks Toolkit, which will help organisations of all sizes to kickstart their socio-economic diversity strategy.
We’re also launching our new Employer Consultation, and we want you to get involved. Find out more about how you can help, and register to attend our launch event, below.
This week’s newsletter also showcases our upcoming masterclasses and events, and provides a quick run down of stories you might have missed.
Thanks for reading,
The SMC Employers Team
Get involved:
Find out more about our new Employer Consultation and Employers Advisory Group
We’re launching a new employer consultation, and we want you to get involved!
We want to understand what activities and interventions employers are finding most effective in improving social mobility within their organisations and communities. We’ll be asking employers to fill in a short, confidential, online response by the end of October, and will use the information provided to publish a “What Works” Report later this year, working closely with a newly established Employers Advisory Group comprising 10-12 members across different sectors who have responded to the consultation.
Join us at 12.30pm on Monday 26 September for a 30 minute online introduction to the consultation with our Director, John Craven, and find out how you can take part.
UPDATE: You can take part in the consultation by completing this form.
Upcoming events:
The importance of culture and leadership – in conversation with I. Stephanie Boyce, President of the Law Society
UPDATE – moved to Weds 11 October, 1pm
There’s still time to sign up to our September employers’ event discussing how your organisation’s culture and leadership is key to supporting social mobility.
We’ll be speaking to I. Stephanie Boyce, president of the Law Society, about how you can develop a culture that fosters inclusion at all levels, as well as some of the challenges employers face in creating an inclusive workplace culture.
Register now to secure your place at our masterclass.
Mentoring as a tool to support social mobility
October Masterclass – Thursday 27 October, 1pm
Join us as we celebrate National Mentoring Day (27 October) with our October employers’ masterclass, exploring the importance of mentoring in supporting workplace progression and social mobility.
We’ll be discussing how mentoring programmes, whatever the scale, create a mutually beneficial relationship between a mentor and a mentee, and can bring as much value to your organisation as they can to an individual.
We’ll be joined by a mentor from Moving Ahead’s Mission INCLUDE programme and a mentee from the Creative Mentor Network’s programme who will share their perspective on the benefits of mentoring schemes. We’ll also be speaking to Eddie Fletcher, Head of Social Mobility for the Ministry of Justice People Group, about what to consider when setting up a mentoring programme and how to measure success.
Register your interest for our October masterclass.
Building Blocks Toolkit launch
Are you new to considering social mobility in your workplace and not sure where to start?
In September, to coincide with National Inclusion Week, we will be publishing our building blocks toolkit. The toolkit is designed as first step guidance to help businesses and organisations of all sizes, up and down the country, to access a wealth of untapped talent and kickstart your socio-economic diversity strategy. The building blocks include recommended interventions on data; culture and leadership; recruitment and outreach practices.
Watch this space for further information.
‘Social Mobility: Improving Business and Society’ – a UN Global Compact Network UK event
John Craven, Head of the Social Mobility Commission, will participate in the first session of the ‘Social Mobility: Improving Business and Society’ webinar series, organised by the UN Global Compact Network UK on 13 September 2022.
The webinar will explore social mobility and how businesses can effectively address socio-economic inequality and reap business benefits from doing so.
More information about the UN Global Compact Network UK webinar is available on our website. Please note: this is an external event.
Stories you might have missed:
The UK has 420,000 missing managers from lower socio-economic backgrounds
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has published their 75th anniversary report, The Everyone Economy, showing that the UK has 420,000 missing managers from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Measuring the socio-economic background of your employees and applicants is the critical first step to improving socio-economic diversity and inclusion in your organisation. However, 80% of those participating in this CMI research said their organisation didn’t collect this data, or they weren’t aware of it.
Check out our simple guide to the most important information you need to collect, and ensure you know what needs to be done in order to improve the socio-economic diversity of your organisation.
Young people are still overlooking apprenticeships
New research from accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO, shows that young people are still overlooking apprenticeships, with over half believing that a university degree makes you more likely to earn a high salary, and over a third believing that career progression is more difficult for those who undertook an apprenticeship, rather than a university degree.
Our apprenticeships toolkit helps organisations offering apprenticeships to ensure that they access the most diverse pool of talent, and outlines the steps employers could take to help empower people from different backgrounds to fully realise their potential.