Landsec has invested close to £2m in the first year of its social mobility programme, supporting more than 3,000 people across the UK and creating £28m of social value.
The REIT has committed to investing £20m by 2033 in Landsec Futures, targeted at improving socio-economic representation in the industry.
Jennie Colville, head of ESG and sustainability at Landsec, told EG that 150 charities and local organisations have received funding in the first year of the programme. The impact is being measured through the National Themes, Outcomes and Measures framework.
The majority of the spend is through three-year partnerships with charities focused on education and employability in local areas across its portfolio, such as the Ahead Partnership.
Landsec now has 23 such partnerships across 18 locations, replacing more ad hoc arrangements.
It has also awarded £200,000 in local community grants across 18 locations, with local staff playing a pivotal role in selecting applications for these awards.
Another slice of the funding has been used to run its internship programme, which has seen nine individuals take up six-month internships over the past year.
Four of those have stayed on at Landsec in permanent jobs.
“There are only 650 people within Landsec, so it was a real bonus that there were jobs for those interns to progress to,” Colville said.
Landsec Futures also awarded seven bursaries for students attending five different universities last year. These are targeted at students from less-advantaged backgrounds to take up industry-related courses or qualifications through bursaries.
Colville said staff were engaging in the Landsec Futures programme across the board.
To help mark Social Mobility Day on 13 June, eight of the executive team – including chief executive Mark Allan – will help deliver a CV workshop and mock interviews at an event at the Lewisham shopping centre where it has major redevelopment plans.
Colville also said that there had been a 19% year-on-year uptick in staff using their volunteer days since Landsec Futures began.
She said the business was constantly learning as it expanded the programme, including about how to talk about low socio-economic backgrounds.
Using terms such as “less advantaged” and “under-resourced” could be more respectful to those the business is seeking to reach, she said.
Photo © Landsec
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