COMMENT The great return to work has begun and as we adapt to the post-Covid world, we have seen many companies introduce a hybrid working model in order to retain highly trained staff.
But this does not work for everyone. Access to our real estate industry has become even more challenging as we adapt to this hybrid model. Offering internships and apprenticeship training schemes on a remote basis – when much training involves being in the office or on-site, learning by osmosis and listening to the conversations of those highly skilled individuals – becomes difficult.
Many of us will remember those early days when keeping our diaries, working towards professional exams and being in the office were key to our learning. Many came through the sandwich degree route offered by the technical colleges, which have now gone, and with the added financial burden of the current system, other routes are more important than ever.
Positive impact
We owe a duty of care to our profession and those contemplating surveying as a career to make it open and accessible to all. Paid internships and apprentice training offer an affordable access route to becoming a chartered surveyor as they increase social mobility. Now is the time for the industry to reflect on its corporate social responsibility and re-evaluate how we can provide access to all and make a positive impact.
There are many different routes open to business when it comes to supporting social mobility. It could mean sponsoring a university student who otherwise may not be able to access higher education or offering a paid internship to a school leaver or taking part in a local school’s “jobs fair”.
It can encompass your company’s diversity and cultural training at the entry level and is something we should be introducing through our recruitment policies. Have you considered that a degree is not an essential requirement to working in your company? Could your business provide support to a school leaver looking to work on a day release programme with a local education facility? I recall the story of a very senior colleague and respected investment director who started out on a youth training scheme aged 16, straight from school, and was with the company for 30-plus years – now that’s loyalty.
Channels for change
At Europa Capital we have been sponsoring a student every year since 2019 through Sheffield Hallam University via a bursary programme and a student award. This is open to students who otherwise would not have been able to afford a university education.
But we go further by working with Uptree, which focuses on levelling the playing field for young people with great exam results but not the access to top jobs and careers. We work with Uptree’s careers outreach programme and offer students work experience and training so they can experience the working world for real and, in return, it gives us access to young, diverse talent.
The disruption of the pandemic is hopefully drawing to an end, and this has had a profound impact on social mobility. According to the government’s Social Mobility Barometer 2021, 56% of the public believes there is increased social mobility, but 39% think it is harder for people from less advantaged families to move up in British society. As we travel to work again and catch up with colleagues, I encourage you to discuss opportunities to integrate and recruit new staff and offer life changing career opportunities to those in less socially mobile positions.
Lynn Smith is head of sustainability and development at Europa Capital
