Leveraging the power of business to create opportunity

A lack of accessible job prospects to progress careers continues to be a significant barrier to social mobility. With the Chancellor due to deliver his Budget at the start of March, we need a Covid recovery plan that gives business owners the confidence to create jobs.

Our research shows that in London 31 per cent of people believe there are ‘lots of opportunities’ within a 25-mile radius compared to just seven per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber and eight per cent in the North East of England. 

Creating job opportunities in social mobility ‘coldspots’ must be a priority. Social Mobility research conducted across 323 local authorities in England shows the top 20 per cent of local authorities are labelled as ‘hotspots’, areas where social mobility is good, and the bottom 20 per cent of local authorities are identified as ‘coldspots’, areas where social mobility is poor. The House of Commons Library has also performed analysis of the Index in order to map levels of social mobility to constituencies in the UK Parliament. 

Blyth in Northumberland acts as an example of the findings that coastal areas and industrial towns are becoming some of the worst social mobility ‘coldspots’. Many of these areas perform badly on both educational measures and adulthood outcomes, giving young people from less advantaged backgrounds limited opportunities.

However, in brilliant news for the area, Blyth has recently been chosen as the site of Britishvolt’s first battery gigaplant where lithium-ion batteries will be in production by the end of 2023. The site represents a total investment of £2.6 billion and is one of the UK’s largest ever industrial investments. Gigaplant will create 3,000 highly skilled jobs in the region, with a further 5,000 in the wider supply chain. As well as a huge boost for the local economy and the jobs market, the plant is strategically important as the automotive industry focuses on electric vehicles and is a key component in the UK achieving Net Zero by 2050. 

If the conditions are right we must ensure that areas that are considered ‘coldspots’ for social mobility are given the right support to attract new businesses and create jobs. Spreading big projects, such as Britishvolt, throughout the UK can spread opportunity more widely across the population. 

It is important to note that social mobility cannot be fixed with a one size fits all approach.

Just because an area’s overall ranking is designated a ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ spot based on current rankings, that is not the complete picture. An area which is a social mobility ‘hotspot’ for most indices can also mask sharp decline in social mobility at different life stages, such as early years. A thorough understanding of the challenges individual communities face is vital.

Organisations that sign the Social Mobility Pledge are taking steps to boost opportunity and putting social mobility at the heart of their purpose. Over 500 organisations, with 5 million employees and 2 million students, have now made their Pledge. We’re encouraging other businesses to do the same by signing here.