Coventry University Group awarded Social Mobility Employer status

Logo of The Social Mobility Pledge
University news

Thursday 03 October 2019

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Press Team
press.mac@coventry.ac.uk


We are pleased to have been named an accredited Social Mobility Employer as part of a nation-wide drive to improve social mobility in the UK.

The university is proud to sign the Social Mobility Pledge, which demonstrates our commitment to the principle that everyone should have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

We have joined major employers such as BT, Aviva, Adidas, and ITV in signing the pledge, which encourages organisations to play a crucial role in providing training and employment opportunities to local people from disadvantaged communities.

The pledge sets out our responsibility to be a forward-thinking organisation in the way we partner with schools and colleges, provide access to experience or apprenticeships, and implement recruitment practices which promote a level playing field.

We are delighted to be officially recognised as a social mobility employer, confirming our dedication to going the extra mile to provide equal access and progress talent from all backgrounds.

Our university has a huge role to play and a lot to gain from improving social mobility. Across the Coventry University Group, there is already work being delivered in this space, from community partnerships, including the Multi-Academy Trust in Coventry and the National Collaborative Outreach Programme in Scarborough, to supporting our students to gain experience and career development through programmes like Add+vantage.

We actively work to identify and encourage students with potential from underrepresented groups to apply and study with us, while also currently supporting one in every 25 jobs across Coventry. Signing the pledge will drive us to further our diversity and inclusion agenda to open doors for the widest possible range of talent.

Vice-Chancellor John Latham, CBE

The pledge was launched in Parliament in 2018 by former Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening MP.

We need to get more opportunities for more young people, so that we have equality of opportunity. I hope the Social Mobility Pledge can be a step along the road to delivering just that.

Justine Greening MP