Equalising access to graduate opportunities
In the latest issue of AGCAS journal Phoenix, Katy Hampshire , Director of Programmes at social mobility charity The Sutton Trust , outlines the role universities can play in developing students' employability skills, the barriers students from lower socio-economic backgrounds face, and what can be done to ensure equal access to graduate opportunities.?
With more graduates applying for jobs in an increasingly competitive marketplace, it’s clear that a student’s development of a wider set of employability skills is vital. Universities have the power to equip students with those skills whether it’s through their academic courses, extracurricular activities or access to networks and work experience opportunities.
However, it’s important that universities ensure these opportunities are accessible to all students, no matter what their background. Alumni of Sutton Trust programmes continue to highlight similar findings to our report The University of Life . It found that those from better-off backgrounds were far more likely to feel they had sufficiently developed skills in finding the right jobs and opportunities whilst at university, compared to their peers from poorer backgrounds.
So what barriers are young people from lower income backgrounds facing, what’s currently happening in the sector, and how can universities level the playing field when it comes to graduate employability?
Opportunities for experience
Internships and work experience placements are vital stepping stones into the world of work. However, students from working-class backgrounds are often less able to access these opportunities, facing barriers in finding placements and affording to take them up, for example, because of the costs of travel or relocation.
To tackle this, we want to see more universities looking to embed opportunities to develop employability and life skills into their courses, ensuring that all students have equal access. This could be done in many ways, such as sandwich years, service learning and employability modules. We also encourage careers services to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds to access paid internships and work experiences, through targeted provision of information and advice, as well as providing additional support, such as bursaries or grants, where needed.
Building skills through societies
There’s also a large gap in extra-curricular activity participation. Just over half of recent graduates from working-class backgrounds took part in student societies, compared to almost two thirds of better-off students. This is partly due to financial barriers such as the cost of activities and the need to work during term-time. Those from less well-off backgrounds were also four times more likely to cite caring responsibilities as a barrier to participation.
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Some universities are making great strides in this area, but we need to see a wider pool of institutions and student unions tackling financial barriers preventing their students from gaining broader experiences and skills that employers value. Universities should also be mindful that many lower-income students may be taking part in these activities for the first time or are unaware of the benefits they can have.
Employer initiatives
Working to rectify these issues is also rising up the agenda for employers and other organisations. For example, contextual recruitment tools are being used by some employers, something we highly recommend in our employer’s guide to social mobility in the workplace .?
Employers are also doing more to specifically support students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to access work experience and internships. This is often in partnership with organisations like ourselves, through initiatives such as our Careers Plus programme, which provides additional work experience and tailored skills sessions for our alumni pursuing a career in law.?
Bursary programmes have also become increasingly important in ensuring costs are not a barrier to participation. The Sutton Trust aims to support our alumni community through both our Opportunity Bursary , supported by JP Morgan Chase and our Career Skills Bursary , supported by Bloomberg. Through these, students can access extra-curricular and enrichment activities that they may not have had the chance to experience otherwise, improving their lifelong skills.
Overall, universities have a fantastic role to play in equipping young people with the skills to succeed in the workplace and power upward social mobility. Whilst there is a lot of great work being done to equalise access to graduate opportunities, further efforts to open up these valuable experiences could profoundly improve the social mobility of disadvantaged young people across the UK.?
This article was published in the March 2024 issue of Phoenix, the AGCAS journal, which focused on social mobility. Read about the impactful activities taking place in careers services across the UK to enhance the social mobility of students and graduates in the latest issue .