4x
The challenge facing employers
The lack of social mobility in the UK doesn't just make things tricky for students. It poses a massive challenge to employers too. Motivated employers who want to recruit talent from low-opportunity areas come up against massive barriers when trying to do so. Zero Gravity is changing that.
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Today in the UK...
it's not what you know,
it's who you know.
The UK has one of the worst rates of social mobility in Europe. Our Gap Zero report showed that students from low-opportunity areas are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to breaking into top careers. State school students were considerably less likely than their privately educated peers to have a professional network to power their journey.
7x
less likely to know a banker
2x
less likely to know an accountant
Why is it so hard to hire socially mobile talent?
Employers who do want to change the status quo, find that hiring socially mobile talent is actually a lot harder than it sounds. We know talent is spread evenly, so, when it comes to recruitment, why is it so hard to attract the right candidates?
Unable to contextualise talent
Employers grapple with the intricate task of pinpointing true social mobility indicators in the talent landscape.
Geographical barriers
Engagement with socially mobile students is often restricted to densely populated urban hubs. In person outreach comes at a high time and financial cost.
Reliance on the traditional pipeline
The ‘milkround’ often focuses on a handful of prestigious institutions, institutions who themselves can struggle to recruit socially mobile students.
Industry misconceptions
Socially mobile talent will disqualify themselves with dated perceptions of their chosen sector or industry - employers immediately miss out.
The gravitational force of inequality
It's like starting a race with one shoe untied
For ambitious working-class students who don't have a family full of university-educated professionals, the journey into top unis and careers is often challenging. They lack the advantage of having someone in their circle to help refine their personal statements or guide them through industry-specific interviews. It's like starting a race with one shoe untied. Here are some of the barriers students from low-opportunity areas often face.
The Network Advantage
Students from the most advantaged areas of the UK are currently over six times more likely to secure a place at a highly-selective university than those from the most disadvantaged areas. While the government, universities, and employers all have a stake in eliminating this gap, at current rates of progress, it will remain for another 332 years. If nothing changes, the UK risks squandering the talent of millions of young people and further entrenching deep social divides that will fester for generations. Our Gap Zero report examines how the Network Advantage shapes access to opportunity.
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There's no-one like me in places like this
Students often struggle to find reflections of themselves in the industries they aspire to enter. The lack of socio-economic diversity in these industries sets off a vicious cycle. Socially-mobile talent ends up self-disqualifying, effectively removing themselves from the application pool. And so the cycle goes on, perpetuating the status quo. It's high time to break this cycle and create a more inclusive path to success.
70%
founders who come from socio-economically advantaged backgrounds
40%
of the UK’s 100 most influential editors and broadcasters are privately educated
20%
of lawyers attended a fee-paying school compared to 7.5% of the general population
So how can employers defy the odds?
The awareness and accessibility gap faced by students from low-opportunity areas means many are simply unaware of which opportunities are out there for them. This means employers need to meet students where they are to create connections, bust myths about their industries and upskill candidates to get them ready for their roles. It's time to make unlocking socially mobile talent the norm.
8000+
Russell Group university offers
800+
offers to Oxford & Cambridge
Partnered with the UK's top employers
Members at 110+ universities