NCUB - National Centre for Universities and Business

Universities and businesses must work together to ensure that students and graduates from all backgrounds are able to reach their potential and succeed in life.

Social mobility is rising up the political and education agendas, with several recent reports highlighting that the UK has yet far to go. From politics to the arts, as much as half of the country’s leaders consist of private school alumni – a striking proportion, considering they only make up 7% of the population. In fact, a 2017 report by the Social Mobility Commission highlighted that only 6% of doctors, 12% of CEOs and 12% of journalists are from working-class backgrounds.

The Government has set forward the UK’s vision to boost social mobility, which is to also play a critical role in addressing the UK’s skills gap. According to Education Secretary Damian Hinds, it is fundamental for a “strong, highly skilled, productive economy, which successfully deploys and maximises its human resources”.

From introducing inclusive work placements and apprenticeships to designing apps to help disadvantaged pupils, to contextualised admissions and recruitment, there are numerous ways universities and business can collaborate to improve social mobility in the UK.

Listed below, we’ve gathered the latest research and opinion around the topic of social mobility. If you would like to contribute please email info@ncub.co.uk.

What is the National Centre for Universities and Business doing in this area?

Many NCUB members have expertise in social mobility, yet initiatives have less impact when they occur in isolation. To combat this, our series of focused, cross-sector 2018 roundtables brought together the expertise of our business and university members to consider where collaboration could more effectively provide a supportive environment for students and graduates from all backgrounds.

Key points and additional evidence emerging from these meetings will be used to influence policy in social mobility.

Read  Sarah Cowan and Peter Seddon’s blog synthesising the discussions at the 2018 roundtable series.

Related content

Social Mobility – Resources

• Social Mobility Commission - Social mobility barometer poll results 2019 (January 2020)
• Higher Education Policy Institute - Social mobility and elite universities (December 2019)
• The Sutton Trust - Social Mobility Polling 2019 (November 2019)
• Office for Students - New approach to access and participation (December 2018)
• Rusell Group - Social mobility briefing (December 2018)
• Department for Education - Opportunity area programme: research and analysis (October 2018)
• University Alliance - Response to the Office for Students consultation (October 2018)
• Office for Students - A new approach to regulating access and participation in English higher education: Consultation (September 2018)
• The 5% Club - Apprenticeships key to creating social mobility & economic growth (September 2018)
• Department for Education - Education Secretary sets vision for boosting social mobility (July 2018)
• Social Mobility Foundation - Social Mobility Employer Index (July 2018)
• OECD: A Broken Social Elevator? How to Promote Social Mobility (June 2018)
• UUK - Opportunity for Everyone Campaign (May 2018)
• Social Mobility Commission - State of the Nation 2017: Social Mobility in Great Britain (November 2017)
• UUK - Working in partnership: enabling social mobility in higher education (October 2016)
• Social Mobility Commission - Bridging the Social Divide Report (Feb 2015)

Social Mobility – Opinion

• NCUB blog - NCUB members take action on social mobility (October 2019)
• NCUB blog - Social mobility and closing the UK skills gap (August 2019)
• NCUB Blog - How schools engagement links into informed decisions (April 2019)
• NCUB Blog - Is your organisation taking social mobility seriously? (April 2019)
• NCUB Blog - Improving social mobility through meaningful partnership (March 2019)
• NCUB Blog - Opportunities for promoting social mobility through Degree Apprenticeships (February 2019)
• Wonkhe - Ladders are best designed by people who know what it’s like to climb one (September 2018)
• The Guardian - Social mobility requires far more than a good education (September 2018)
• NCUB Blog - Moving social mobility up the agenda (July 2018)
• NCUB Blog - Collective action to break the deadlock on diversity and social mobility (June 2018)
• AGCAS Phoenix journal - Social Mobility case studies (February 2018)
• NCUB Blog - Social mobility: widening the view (January 2017)
• NCUB Blog - Work experience and social mobility (July 2015)

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