Read: Building blocks for opportunity

The first three months of the year are all about hitting the ground running. At the Purpose Coalition, we’ve been working hard with our existing and new partners in business, universities, local authorities and the NHS on setting an agenda that will drive social mobility in every part of the country and on building the blocks that will offer real equality of opportunity – connecting people and organisations, measuring progress and shaping an equality of opportunity agenda. What’s come out of that already in 2023 have been some hugely positive steps forward.

Along with the former skills minister, Anne Milton, and eight business leaders, and prior to the budget, we wrote to ask the Chancellor to take urgent action on reforming apprenticeships so that great employers can do even more with even greater social mobility impact. It was welcome to see Jeremy Hunt set out a reform in terms of a new ‘returnership’ for experienced workers to reskill. It was also crucial to have his response to our letter outlining what looks like an internal Treasury review of the apprenticeship levy to consider how tax incentives and training and skills investment can better link together. As the Education Secretary who introduced the levy in 2017, it was always clear to me that apprenticeships are such a vital part of driving social mobility. With billions of the levy unspent and handed back to the Treasury, there’s a big opportunity for an ‘apprenticeship levy 2.0’ with more flexibility. Purpose Coalition input and ideas can hopefully really help shape Treasury thinking. 

The Chancellor also agreed to give parents in England up to 30 hours a week of free childcare from the age of nine months. An extension of free childcare was one of the key elements of the Purpose Coalition’s Cost-of-Living Report which was developed in partnership with Coalition members. We set out five areas where the Government could help to improve the financial resilience of those struggling with cost-of-living challenges in the short and longer term. Making sure that parents, especially women, can play a full part in the workforce makes sound economic and social sense. The latest gender pay gap data - of real interest to me because I introduced the gender pay gap regulations in 2017 - shows that the challenges remain for what some call the ‘motherhood penalty’ on careers, and better childcare provision is part of how we can get gender pay gap figures moving in the right direction for the long term.

Both these budget steps show that things can change for the better if the Government creates the conditions that enable organisations to get on and invest - in their businesses, in their employees and in their communities. 

We’ve also made great progress on a project which will be an online platform, to be launched in the near future, with the world’s leading talent advisory and solutions company, The Adecco Group. It will match university graduates from Purpose Coalition universities with employers who share their purpose goals and are motivated by the passions, all with the aim of turbocharging social mobility. Over the past year we’ve listened to employers, universities and students directly to get a better idea of what they look for in potential employers and candidates and how that would translate into successful recruitment and retention. We can’t wait to finally get the platform piloted and tested with our Purpose Coalition organisations, and stay tuned for more news shortly.

Measurement matters too for progress on social mobility. Our employee social mobility tracking campaign - the Equality of Opportunity Coalition - is also really picking up pace, with more and more employers recognising the need to make the most of talent wherever it comes from so that their organisations are a true reflection of the places they serve.  Measuring socio-economic background, like measuring the gender pay gap or the ethnicity gap, is an integral part of progress. It can be a slow, demanding process but identifying the gaps, and assessing where the barriers exist, means that organisations are in a better position to close them. With the ICAEW and CIPFA now partnering with the Purpose Coalition on the campaign, we’ve built a fantastic group to help us drive real change. 

At the Purpose Coalition, our intention is to work cross-party in Parliament with those MPs who also have the delivery of social mobility at the top of their agenda and who understand the importance of accessing opportunity so that we have a better society that is fairer when it comes to accessing opportunity. Our Purpose Coalition partners are helping us shape that message and innovating on the solution to make it happen. I’m looking forward to continuing our campaign into 2023. We can make a real difference individually, but the real key to success is working together for our common goal of equality of opportunity and that’s what the Purpose Coalition is all about.