Perspectives
11 April 2024
According to research by the Social Mobility Commission, adults in the UK with working-class parents are about three times more likely to be in a working-class occupation themselves, compared with those whose parents have a professional occupation. Similarly, adults from households where a parent has a degree are three and a half times more likely to get one themselves, compared to those whose parents had no qualifications.
Social mobility is the extent to which a person’s future is shaped by their start in life. It’s important for many reasons – not least because people should be able to fulfil their potential, and ambitions, regardless of their socio-economic background or other circumstances beyond their control. But also because increased social mobility can boost economic productivity and growth.
Poor social mobility in the UK means that it doesn’t matter how smart, talented or driven some of our young people are, they are held back by their circumstances. It means businesses and the economy miss out on top talent too.”
Sarah Atkinson
CEO
Social Mobility Foundation
Despite setbacks resulting from the 2008 global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current cost of living challenges, there are encouraging signs for the future of the younger generation. More young people who wish to go to university and/or work in professional occupations are doing so, compared to a decade ago. Fewer are unemployed or uneducated.
Challenges remain, however, and improving social mobility continues to be a priority for Macquarie, which takes a holistic approach through its philanthropic and recruitment strategies to attract and support diverse talent.
“One of the difficulties with social mobility is that it’s not necessarily visible,” says Sally Gannon, Global Talent Lead in Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets business. “It’s only if you ask what the career trajectory of the parents has been, or whether people were on free school meals, for example, that you begin to see the gaps. And people aren’t always comfortable to share this information,” she adds.
To respond to this challenge, Macquarie has developed a series of programmes designed to encourage talent from low socio-economic communities. “These are really unique initiatives,” says Sally. “They are not the average summer internship or graduate programmes; they’ve been designed in partnership with our businesses to create a pipeline of talent to the organisation that’s going to develop over the long term.”
One of these is the Junior Associate Programme, run in partnership with London Works and the Social Mobility Foundation, which offers placement opportunities of one to two years to qualifying candidates currently studying at a London university. Over the last two years, 25 young people have taken part, securing employment with Macquarie between their studies.
The Junior Associate Programme has enabled me to gain experience in an environment where everyone is committed to my success. It’s been an invaluable introduction to financial services and a head start for my career upon graduation.”
Jonida Kolgjini
Junior Associate
Macquarie Commodities and Global Markets
Another is the Rise To It with Macquarie Programme, which provides financial assistance to 17–18-year-old students from low socio-economic backgrounds and underrepresented communities to cover the costs of university, and which offers work experience at Macquarie. Since the programme’s launch in 2021, Macquarie has welcomed 180 students to its London office and has awarded eight scholarships.
The Rise to It with Macquarie Programme is a potentially life-changing opportunity for these students, and it benefits us too. We want to attract and keep the best talent – people with different ways of thinking – so we need to give people an equitable landscape from the outset.”
Arun Assumall
Executive Director
Macquarie Commodities and Global Markets
These programmes demonstrate that encouraging social mobility is not only the right thing to do; there is a clear business case – one that extends to supporting people throughout their careers.
“To remain competitive, we have to access the full talent market and not just a subset of it,” says Emma Cahill, Head of Early Careers at Macquarie EMEA. “But it’s also about ensuring that these candidates thrive when they’re here, enabling them to have successful long-term careers.”
This support includes helping to build networks, promoting informal mentoring and coaching relationships, and generally building up the social capital that individuals might lack.
Similarly, it is important to ensure that everyone feels valued and accepted in the workplace, Emma adds. “It comes down to creating a psychologically safe culture so people feel they can speak up and talk about their personal lives and feel that they are part of the community at Macquarie. That will be what sets them up for a successful career with us.”
Social mobility is also at the core of the Macquarie Group Foundation’s (the Foundation) strategy, which recognises that many people around the world face barriers to employment and funds non-profit organisations working to overcome these barriers.
“Macquarie is dedicated to helping people from low socio-economic backgrounds access employment”, says Rachel Engel, Regional Head of the Macquarie Group Foundation, EMEA. “This is achieved through providing funding and employability support which is focused on re-skilling, training and placing people into enduring jobs and meaningful work.”
The Foundation has an expanding portfolio of 11 non-profit partnerships across the UK and Europe with the aim of providing funds to organisations working to improve social mobility. These include:
Another long-term partner has been Leadership Through Sport and Business (LTSB), which helps place bright young people from low socio-economic backgrounds into apprenticeships with major firms across the UK.
Piettra Silva shares how LTSB helped her secure professional employment. LTSB CEO Rob Burton, and Regional Head of the Macquarie Group Foundation in EMEA Rachel Engel, also highlight the impact the charity has had across the UK with the support from the Macquarie Group Foundation over the last 10 years.
One of Macquarie’s grant partners, the Social Mobility Foundation, has been running its Social Mobility Employer Index, an annual benchmarking and assessment tool for employers, since 2017. The Index shows how employers perform in eight areas of employer-led social mobility.
Macquarie has entered three times, once again placing within the top 75 of employers in the UK in 2023, and as more and more companies enter and the Index grows, the benchmarking process requires organisations to evidence the work they are doing to ensure that they are open to talent from all social backgrounds.
Macquarie’s participation in the Social Mobility Employer Index has been really valuable. It shows where we are doing well, but it also highlights where there are opportunities for us to do more.
Emma Cahill
Head of Early Careers, EMEA
Macquarie
Getting social mobility right is about future-proofing the business, says Sally. “We need to take a step back and think about what our workforce is going to look like over the next 5, 10 or 20 years,” she says. “We know that having a diverse workforce with a diverse set of perspectives will make us more successful, and drive greater outcomes for society too.”
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