Working to improve social mobility in our communities is something close to our hearts, and our Purpose. It's Social Mobility Day, and we're getting behind championing equitable employment opportunities for all. We're working with partners to support children and adults in our communities with their numeracy literacy, and education - helping them make the most of life's opportunities.
If people from all starting points and backgrounds in life have a good chance of achieving any outcome, then mobility is high. And this is what we seek to enable in our activities through the Social Mobility Affinity Group with our colleagues and within our communities.
Group Social Impact Manager Cathy Prior said, "Education is a key driver of social mobility. So much of our activity is geared around just that. We work with our voluntary partners and local schools to give children and young people the knowledge and skills they need to reach their potential and go on to access opportunities which will ensure their future social and financial inclusion."
We’re supporting a range of projects that will build young people’s aspirations and help them to develop their communication and literacy skills, through local and national partnerships, which you can read about here from supporting the National Literacy Trust and National Numeracy, to School-Home Support, Leading children, and Community Foundations.
Supporting our colleagues
We want to make sure that we are making the best use of the talent and aspirations of all our colleagues. We’re measuring the socio-economic diversity of our workforce to find gaps and target programme to improve diversity. We’re building talent pipelines and encouraging our colleagues to undertake apprenticeships and progress their careers. We’ve made improvements to our recruitment practices and we’re nurturing our existing talent through new initiatives, like providing access for all to further learning.
We’ve recently launched LinkedIn Learning for all our colleagues, which gives you free access to a treasure trove of learning resources, videos, courses, and reading materials. We recognise that investing in your development is key to delivering our goals. By providing free access to LinkedIn Learning, we're empowering and encouraging you to expand your knowledge, acquire new skills, and grow both personally and professionally.
Senior Manager, Strategic Risk and Programme Analytics, Nick Howarth Pulleyn said, "There's a really wide offering of courses on LinkedIn Learning to help with technical and leadership development, among other things. I love to learn, and I have been keen to go exploring. The courses can be taken in bite-sized lessons and I like the way that I can go back to various bits for a quick reprise. Most of the content I've encountered so far is from the US but, despite a few legislative and cultural differences, the key learning points translate to a UK context."
We also offer apprenticeships as a great way to invest in your professional development. They're a combination of on and off the job learning that help you to learn while you earn.
Inclusion and Wellbeing Manager Annette Saunders said, "I am thrilled to embark on my Level 3 Data Foundation apprenticeship, and the support from my manager and colleagues across the business has been truly remarkable. Having an employer that values continuous learning as a cornerstone of success is invaluable, and I am excited to see where this journey takes me."
Learn more about our commitment to social mobility here.