“There comes a point where we need to stop pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”

Today is ‘Social Mobility Day’ and a date to mark the importance of equitable life chances for everybody within the UK. This year it brings with it some worrying data:

• The number of young people aged 16 to 24 years not in education, employment or training (NEET) in January to March 2024, is currently estimated to be 900,000, up from 812,000 in January to March 2023.
• The percentage of all young people who were NEET in January to March 2024 was estimated at 12.6%, up 1.1 percentage points on January to March 2023.
• The increase in the number of young people who were NEET was driven by young men, with an increase of 99,000 on the year to 506,000 (January to March 2023).

In my own career sector research from the ONS paints a picture of ingrained staticism, with 89% of senior level employees in major financial services organisations deriving from higher socio-economic backgrounds.

Whilst these outputs bring into sharp focus questions around representation, the causes are nuanced and complex, and understanding can start through direct engagement with young people. My view has always been that no matter your background you should be proud of what it taught you and how it shaped your thinking – it was unique to you and as consequence allows you to bring something unique to the world. That’s as true for those who come from lower, middle or higher socio-economic backgrounds. There’s a danger in this debate that those who have a more supportive and enabling start should feel conservative about sharing this with others who’ve been less fortunate – but advancement of this topic is grounded in shared experience, not isolation or echo chambers.

I also reflect heavily about the distinction between equal and equitable approaches – nobody wants to succeed based on characteristics over meritocracy, so we should be balanced in how targets are used as a means to show progress. Outputs don’t always show systemic change but inputs and approach are the ‘system’. If we observe inequality within a segment then our natural human reaction is to seek parity, but it is my experience parity comes predominantly from opportunity at the front not balance at the end.

This is why the bridge between education and employment is so fundamental. For some the transition comes with 20:20 clarity but for others it may as well be an ask to swim the Atlantic. Whilst not always the case, socio-economic background is a largely influencing factor on each perspective. If you’re surrounded by those who have experience of making a successful transition, have lived it and can share their journey then like any process you can make use of their opinions to shape your own. However, for many this isn’t the reality and when people talk of ambition, those from lower SEB’s tend to prioritise personal economic security. It's one of the primary reasons many young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds elect for seeking work, any work, post-secondary education. Optionality, is a luxury for many.

For some young people, ambition is the ability to look to the horizon, plant a flag and set out on a pathway to reach it… whether that be college, university, an apprenticeship or a targeted career pathway. For others ambition is difficult and elusive… they simply want to find the aspiration to lift their head up and not be blinded by the light. People use these terms interchangeably but I’ve always been pointed about the impact of language in shaping understanding:

Ambition – “A strong desire to do or achieve something.”

Aspiration – “A hope to achieve something.”

So the question becomes… ‘How can we turn a young person’s hope into achievable desire?’

The answer doesn’t sit in lazy stereotypes about effort, intellect or potential but in the requirement to recognise resilience, stoicism and determination. It’s between these two perspectives that progress can be made. Taking positive action to allow young people from lower SEB’s the luxury to try, to engage, to fail and learn is at the heart of enduring social mobility.

Both business and society can play a role in creating these opportunities for meritocracy to play out and be the natural creator of representation. If we don’t find ways to increase accessibility then ‘talent’, whatever your definition of it may be, will be restricted to a finite group and the remainder lost to poor process and limited imagination.

I’ve been fortunate enough in my own career to receive advocacy, candour and opportunity to ‘try’ and when I’ve not quite achieved the maximum of what was required, people have shown me the patience and support to try again. It’s been needed. It’s the antidote to many who come from a lower SEB and helps remove the residual feeling of never quite being an image of who you think you should be.

So my ask on this Social Mobility Day is not to seek parity or balance but to never miss a chance to create accessibility where you can. Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not.

Be the role model you needed when you were younger.