July 17, 2023 | Paula Kemp

2023 State of the Nation report: People and Places

Join us at this online event where our Interim Chair, Alun Francis OBE, will be discussing our 2023 State of the Nation report: People and Places, charting the evolving social mobility landscape across the United Kingdom.  This event is for policy makers, government officials, educators, business leaders and employers, charities and individuals who, like the Social Mobility Commission, are committed to making a difference for people across the UK – to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive irrespective of their background or the place they grew up.

May 19, 2023 | Felicity Hallam

Westminster Higher Education Forum’s ‘Next steps for equality of opportunity in higher education’

We are pleased the John Craven, Director of the Social Mobility Commission, will be delivering the keynote speak at Westminster Higher Education Forum’s (WHEF) upcoming event, ‘Next steps for equality of opportunity in higher education’. It comes as the Office for Students consults on a new approach to regulating equality and opportunity, including additional requirements […]

May 4, 2023 | Paula Kemp

Employers’ Masterclass: Let’s talk about Class

In organisations across the UK, there are conversations about the importance of diversity and inclusion going on at every level in your workforce – but whilst this may address the experiences of different groups in the modern workforce, there’s a strong chance that class and socio-economic background (SEB) isn’t yet being discussed.  

Our next employer masterclass will explore what a healthy, inclusive conversation about class and socio-economic background looks like, and how you can help everyone in your workplace to get involved. 

May 3, 2023 | Paula Kemp

Employers’ Masterclass: Using the new SMC Data Explorer tool to drive regional change

Employers play a key role in social mobility 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 to find out how employers can utilise our new tool to understand their workforce distribution, provide insight for outreach activity and hiring activity, and to serve and support regional communities. 

March 23, 2023 | Felicity Hallam

ENEI’s ‘Guest Webinar: What is Social Mobility?’

Paula Kemp, Head of Employer Engagement at the Social Mobility Commission, took part as a guest speaker at ENEI’s event, ‘What is Social Mobility?’. During the event, Paula spoke about: Social mobility and the current position Why employers should get involved The impact and benefits How this can be applied in the workplace Best practice […]

March 23, 2023 | Felicity Hallam

Westminster Education Forum’s ‘Priorities for raising attainment in England’s schools’

John Craven, Director of the Social Mobility Commission, delivered the keynote speech at Westminster Education Forum’s conference. This event assesses the next steps for raising educational attainment and addressing key factors contributing to the attainment gap across England’s schools. It took place in the context of the Schools White Paper in 2022, which set out […]

March 8, 2023 | Felicity Hallam

Employers’ Masterclass: Outreach and social mobility

Our May masterclass will cover how employers can use outreach to build an inclusive recruitment pipeline from the ground up, reaching and attracting a wide pool of talent. Engaging with candidates from a low socio-economic background through outreach enables you to: raise awareness of your organisation and industry to a wider reach of prospective employees […]

February 15, 2023 | Paula Kemp

Employers’ Masterclass: Accents in the Workplace

Accent is not directly relevant to work outputs.  To get hired, or to get ahead in your organisation, you would think that what you say – rather than how you say it – would be the most important factor.  However research does not reflect this. Join us at our April masterclass to explore how you can raise awareness of the issue of accent bias in your own organisation and what steps you can take to ensure that the focus is on the knowledge and skills of the employee or candidate, and not their accent.

February 13, 2023 | Felicity Hallam

Can we increase social mobility by improving young people’s access to information about the labour market value of HE and FE qualifications?

Join the SMC on Tuesday 28th February for an online event discussing the implications of our Interim Report, part of an action assigned to us by the government in relation to Inclusive Britain. Our report showed how different HE and FE qualifications can vary significantly in the labour market returns they offer, that those from […]

February 10, 2023 | Felicity Hallam

Employers’ Masterclass: The art of using storytelling to build inclusion

At the heart of every organisation is its people – all with a personal story to share that shapes and defines them.  Harnessing the power of personal storytelling as part of your Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy is an effective way to build inclusion into your workplace culture and gain the trust of your employees […]

January 10, 2023 | Social Mobility Commission

Employers’ Masterclass: Using Apprenticeships to improve social mobility and build skills for life

Our next masterclass will explore the role of apprenticeships and how they can drive social mobility and develop skills for individuals and the workforce. Employers and training providers rely on apprenticeship schemes to provide new opportunities, upskill people from inside and outside their organisation and contribute to a more innovative, inclusive workforce. One of the […]

December 19, 2022 | Felicity Hallam

Business in the Community’s ‘Time to Act: Addressing Inequalities in Education’

John Craven, Director of the Social Mobility Commission is pleased to be a part of this Business in the Community (BITC) event. He will be sharing the key challenges faced in education and what businesses can be doing to help. As an employer, you can register for this BITC event to hear from John and […]

November 23, 2022 | Felicity Hallam

Employers’ Masterclass: Using workforce data to understand and improve social mobility

As an employer, data is one of the most important tools you have to understanding and improving diversity in your workplace, including social mobility. However, many employers report that collecting socio-economic data remains their biggest challenge. Collecting relevant and high quality data is necessary when challenging social mobility for a number of reasons. It allows […]

October 25, 2022 | Felicity Hallam

Employer Event: T Levels: What, why, where and how?

Keen to explore different ways of reaching a widening talent pool for your early in career hires?  T Levels may be just what you are looking for.   T Levels are an alternative to A levels and other further education courses. Equivalent to 3 A levels, a T Level focuses on vocational skills and can help […]

October 12, 2022 | Social Mobility Commission

In conversation with Ann Francke OBE: The building blocks of social mobility in the workplace

In our next event for employers we will be exploring the building blocks of social mobility with Ann Franke OBE, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management institute (CMI). Through our conversation with Ann, we will explore: how organisations can develop an social mobility strategy; the initial steps organisations should take to kickstart their socio-economic diversity journey; the role of senior leaders and managers in boosting inclusion and widening opportunities; how to ensure your organisation is an environment where all staff can thrive, regardless of background

August 31, 2022 | Paula Kemp

Social Mobility Employers Masterclass: Mentoring as a tool to support social mobility

To celebrate National Mentoring Day (27 October), our October employers’ masterclass will explore the importance of mentoring in supporting workplace progression and social mobility.
Mentoring partnerships can range from a localised, informal arrangement to a highly organised, official programme that spans across industries. Participants in mentoring programmes range from students from lower socio-economic backgrounds being matched with employees from a particular industry, to senior leaders being matched with junior members of staff in reverse mentoring programmes.

August 31, 2022 | Paula Kemp

Launch of the Social Mobility Commission’s Employer Consultation and Employer Advisory Group

During October 2022, the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) will be running our first ever Employer Consultation. We aim to understand what activities and interventions employers are finding most effective in improving social mobility within their organisations and communities. 

We will use the information provided to publish a “What Works” Report later this year, working closely with a newly established SMC Employer Advisory Group. This group will meet quarterly, and comprise 10-12 members across different sectors who have responded to the Consultation. 

August 31, 2022 | Paula Kemp

UN Global Compact Network UK’s ‘Social Mobility: Improving recruitment and boosting inclusion’ webinar

Guests on the second session of the ‘Social Mobility: Improving Business and Society’ webinar series, organised by the UN Global Compact Network UK, will explore how companies can establish clear social mobility strategies in the recruitment stage – including understanding the criteria and the different hiring models that leading companies use to hire their personnel to improve social mobility.

August 10, 2022 | Paula Kemp

The importance of culture and leadership – in conversation with I. Stephanie Boyce, President of the Law Society

The importance of culture and leadership to within an organisation to support social mobility cannot be underestimated. In conversation with I. Stephanie Boyce, President of the Law Society of England and Wales, we’ll be discussing how organisations can develop a culture that fosters inclusion and the role colleagues at all levels play.

March 7, 2022 | Rachael Cochrane

Apprenticeships – do they work and could they be for you?

Apprenticeships – do they work and could they be for you? Please note: this is an external event run by the Free School Meals Club.  Join the Free School Meals Club on 10 March 2022 at 12pm for an online panel discussion looking at apprenticeships from the perspective of employers and candidates. Paul Noble of […]

January 14, 2022 | SMC Admin

Socio-economic background data collection Q&A: Hosted by the Socio-economic diversity taskforce 

Please note: this is an external event run by the City of London Corporation on behalf of the Socio-economic Diversity Taskforce.  The Socio-Economic Diversity Taskforce has teamed up with the Social Mobility Commission to provide a data collection Q&A session, where we will answer frequent questions that employers (on the taskforce and beyond) have about data collection.   This […]

January 13, 2022 | Rachael Cochrane

Time for Change: Using apprenticeships to drive social mobility, diversity and inclusion

Social Mobility Commission are pleased to support this external event. Time for Change: Using apprenticeships to drive social mobility, diversity and inclusion More than any other early career route, apprenticeships offer real opportunity to drive social mobility, diversity, and inclusion in an organisation. This NAW2022, Amazing Apprenticeships are proud to invite you to a very […]

August 31, 2021 | SMC Admin

Apprenticeships and social mobility: a practice-oriented virtual lunch conversation between practitioners

Apprenticeships are one of the most powerful tools to enable social mobility and develop a talented workforce that can meet the challenges of the future.  But apprenticeships in England are not fulfilling this promise – apprentices from working class backgrounds face barriers at every stage, while organisations are missing out on talented people. The pandemic […]

August 24, 2021 | Rachael Cochrane

Be inspired to make the change – Socio-economic inclusion in the Creative Industries

Attracting and retaining a wide and diverse talent pool is a must for any forward-thinking team.  Yet those from privileged backgrounds are more than twice as likely as those from working class backgrounds to land a job in a creative occupation, dominating key creative roles in the sector.   What goes on in the creative sector […]

July 8, 2021 | Alice Viner

Employers’ masterclass: Social Mobility, Culture and Leadership

Our latest masterclass puts culture and leadership under the spotlight to explore how employers can forge a compelling, shared vision of the importance of social mobility in any organisation.

July 7, 2021 | SMC Admin

Assessing apprenticeships on their social mobility potential

Lindsay Turner Trammell, Head of Policy and Innovation at the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) will be one of the keynote speakers during a morning-long conference held by the Westminster Employment Forum on 20 May.