For many people, London’s Square Mile epitomises wealth inequality in the UK. Despite being home to some of the richest financial institutions in the world, it is set against areas of deprivation and disadvantage.
Even with a concerted effort in recent years to shake off an ‘old boys’ club image’, the City workforce is still proportionally favoured towards workers of a certain gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic background.
To play our small part in addressing the issue, earlier this year we partnered with The Brokerage: a charity which aims to work with young people to raise aspirations, create access and provide opportunities within the City to achieve diversity in the workplace.
As part of our work, we organised for one student to take part in an eight-week internship at Headland. During his time with us, we aimed to give him an insight into both our business and the wider world of PR, where he supported on a wide-range of accounts, from the energy to retail sector. We also ran a PR masterclass with other young people to give them a taste of life in the industry.
Our work with the Brokerage was recently recognised at the City Business Traineeship Awards, where we won Employer Newcomer of the Year. The City Business Traineeship programme launched in 1994 and has helped over 1,500 young people secure paid internships. The aim is to give them the skills needed to succeed in the Square Mile.
Though there’s still a long way to go to even out the playing field, we’re proud to have played even a role in helping to support and develop young talent from our local area.