Event

Launching opportunity: how first jobs shape long-term success

This event hosted by UK think tank the Social Market Foundation launches their new research into the role of young people’s first job in shaping long-term progression.

Join us for a panel event launching new SMF research into the role of young people’s first job in shaping long-term progression and how early-career roles can support social mobility.

As rates of youth unemployment remain stubbornly high, getting young people into work is a key priority for the Government. The nature of a young person’s first job – the training, progression and exposure to opportunity that it may offer – matters, especially as an increasingly educated workforce means that qualifications alone may act as a weaker signaling tool to employers on the relative suitability of a candidate.

The SMF’s upcoming report explores how different employers and jobs contribute to young people’s overall career trajectory, and why some young people progress while others remain stuck in roles with little opportunity for development. The final report draws on polling of 3,000 UK adults and interviews with 200 young people to identify the characteristics of good first jobs, who gets access to them, and what long-term financial returns employees who start off on the right foot can expect.  

Speakers

Sarah Atkinson –  Chief Executive, Social Mobility Foundation

Phillipa O’Connor – Chief People Officer, PwC

Marco Amitrano – Senior Partner and Head of PwC UK

Dani Payne – Head of Education and Social Mobility, Social Market Foundation

Dr Rebecca Montacute – Research Director, Social Market Foundation (Chair)

Further speakers to be announced.