Social Mobility
10 years ago, Bruin responded to a challenge issued to the financial services sector by Labour MP, the Rt Hon David Lammy to address the barriers to entry within the industry. With little or no vital social capital, such as connected friends and family, many of the best and brightest from British society miss out on career opportunities, particularly in the City, where the privately educated are dramatically over-represented.
Working in conjunction with the Social Mobility Foundation, Bruin launched the City Talent Initiative, a programme dedicated to supporting high-achieving young people from low-income backgrounds gain entry to leading City firms. Such was its success, the City Talent Initiative has since been diversified into a cross sector programme, offered across the UK.
Today, we continue to lead from the front, partnering with UpReach, the Social Mobility Foundation,and other social enterprise organisations to provide mentoring and work experience, as well as CV skills workshops and mock interviews. Bruin is also proud to be an accredited supporter of the cross-party Social Mobility pledge initiative. These employers are tackling the issue as they would any other business challenge: by formulating a systematic plan to change their recruitment and progression procedures to ensure that the brightest talent is given a chance.
Latest Insights
Progress Together: Social mobility at senior level in Financial Services
Bruin recently partnered with Progress Together for a panel discussion focused on social mobility at senior levels within Financial Services. With research showing that socio-economic background is more likely to impact a person’s chances of progression than their gender or ethnicity, this becomes an important topic for organisations looking to promote true diversity across their…
Bruin joins forces with Progress Together
Bruin Financial & Professional Services has joined forces with a government-backed organisation, Progress Together, to tackle the socio-economic imbalance in the sector. This partnership comes in response to the recent study commissioned by Progress Together called Shaping Our Economy, which revealed the UK financial services sector to have one of the worst socio-economic diversity rates…
upReach Skills Workshop
Bruin was recently invited to host a Skills Workshop with social mobility charity upReach, as part of their collaborative work with Diversity Project, to share top tips for CV writing, presentation and insights into the financial services sector. upReach is a social mobility charity supporting undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds into top graduate jobs. Founded in…
The Skills Workshop
Bruin is proud to be one of sixty firms involved in The Skills Workshop, launched to create a more inclusive talent pipeline in the investment and savings industry. • The Skills Workshop is aimed at university students to help gain insight, knowledge and direction to help start their financial career and build social capital •…
Bruin UpReach volunteer internship programme
At the peak of the pandemic, the future was and still is unclear, as an organization we understood our role to play within the financial services sector will play a pivotal part moving forward. It was clear that students were going to be hit hard and would be at a disadvantage to previous year groups.…
Mentoring & social mobility
Emily Ayre, MD of Bruin Financial, shares her experience on the benefits of mentoring. “Having just signed up to be a Mentor again, this time of a slightly different kind, it takes me back to 2014 when I first began this highly rewarding journey. I have managed individuals and teams throughout my career and mentoring…
The Social Mobility Foundation Manchester accountancy futures day
The Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) is a charity which aims to make a practical improvement in social mobility for young people from low-income backgrounds. The SMF was founded in 2005 to provide opportunities and networks of support for 16-17 year olds who are unable to get them from their schools or families. The SMF holds…
Bruin signs the Social Mobility Pledge
Bruin has been named an accredited Social Mobility Employer, as part of a nation-wide drive to improve social mobility in the UK. Bruin has signed up to the Social Mobility Pledge, which encourages businesses to play their crucial role in boosting social mobility by providing training and employment opportunities to local people from disadvantaged communities.…