By Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa, CEO, Career Ready

For many young people, it is still the case that their career prospects will be determined not by their potential but by their background. As several recent reports have demonstrated, as a nation we are making little progress in terms of social mobility. This matters for our younger generations; it also matters for the economy.

If young people continue to face unfair and unnecessary barriers into education and employment, employers will continue to miss out on a vibrant and diverse talent pool. At a time when many companies are grappling with skills shortages and struggling to fill entry level roles, this makes no sense.

Investing in young people

At Career Ready, we are working to change this. We connect students aged 15-18 with employers across the country, and provide meaningful work experience and support as part of a programme lasting around a year.

The young people, mostly from low-income and under-represented backgrounds, are matched with mentors who provide ongoing advice and guidance. They’re offered a four-week paid internship during the summer holidays, and have the chance to visit different workplaces and attend a series of skills masterclasses.

Work experience is vital for all young people. But a paid internship like the ones we organise can be transformative. Paid work placements remove barriers for under-represented young people, who despite their talents and skills are traditionally less likely to enter further and higher education, secure professional jobs and receive higher earnings.

Business benefits 

SMEs and businesses get involved in our programmes for a number of reasons. For some, providing opportunities for under-represented young people is an important part of their social responsibility agenda. For others, it’s about giving back to society, while also becoming more connected to and reflective of that society. For many, it’s about nurturing a culture which supports diversity and inclusion, and opening operations up to fresh perspectives and insights.

Because we offer employers and their employees the chance to become volunteer mentors, the existing workforce benefits hugely too. Through one-to-one meetings and ongoing support, mentors guide, advise and often inspire young people, while significantly boosting their own coaching and management skills.

And, crucially, our programmes allow employers to develop their future talent pipeline. The vast majority of employers we work with say that given the opportunity they would hire their Career Ready intern. Indeed, each year several businesses have done just that.

How does this work for SMEs?

The process for all employers wanting to partner with us is very simple. We know what works and support our employer partners in creating an experience that works for them and the young people. We’ve been doing it for over twenty years.

We are fortunate to work with many very large businesses and household names. But our social mobility mission is not simply about young people pursuing city-based careers in sectors like law, politics, medicine or finance. It’s about creating opportunities in every community and for every young person, in a way that reflects their aspirations and circumstances.

That’s why we established the Internship Investment Fund – a special scheme to enable SMEs to apply for funding to host young people for paid internships. SMEs are the backbone of local communities, and can be powerful drivers in levelling up young talent. We don’t want a lack of resources to get in the way.

The fund is for SMEs, charities and public sector organisations with 10 or more employees, with the capacity to host a young person for a four-week period. The internships are held in the summer holidays between school years 12 and 13. The funding ensures that young people can be paid the UK Living Wage. We are currently accepting enquiries for funding for next summer.

Needed now more than ever

It’s been a tough few years for our younger generations, and for businesses. And while we don’t pretend to have all the answers, we do know – from our research, from our impact evaluations, from everything we hear from the people we work with, and from our decades of experience – that work experience, and paid internships in particular, are transformative.

And so we urge employers of all shapes and sizes, across all sectors and in every part of the UK, to join us. Invest in young talent, future-proof your business, and bring about much-needed change in your community.

Find out more and contact us: https://careerready.org.uk/2022/04/06/internship-investment-funding-for-smes/

Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa is CEO of Career Ready, the UK-wide social mobility charity which connects employers with schools and colleges to offer opportunities to young people from diverse and under-represented backgrounds. Career Ready’s programmes transform young people and prepare them for the world of work, while providing SMEs and larger businesses with a pipeline of untapped talent and a way to promote a diverse and inclusive culture.