CABINET OFFICE News
Release (CAB039/09) issued by COI News Distribution Service on 15
May 2009
The Access to
Professions Panel, led by Rt Hon Alan Milburn MP has today
challenged professions to open their doors so a top career is open
to people regardless of their social background.
The Panel published new figures showing how Britain is divided
when it comes to getting a professional career. In the North East
England only one-third of the workforce are in professional or
managerial jobs while in London it is over one-half. Experts
estimate that by 2020 professional employment will be the fastest
growing sector of the British economy with up to 7 million more
professional jobs. But today's figures show professional
opportunities vary widely across the country. That divide could
widen unless action is taken to address it.
This comes as the Panel's second report is published,
highlighting best practice initiatives aimed at encouraging more
young people to pursue a professional career. The Fair Access:
Good Practice report summarises the views and suggestions of over
120 organisations and professional bodies from across more than 40
sectors on how Government and the professions could provide real
opportunities to help people to get better jobs and better their
prospects. Ideas have been submitted to the Panel on how employers
can tap in and develop this generation's talent.
Commenting on the evidence and suggestions received by the Panel,
the Rt. Hon. Alan Milburn MP said:
"Our earlier research showed professions have become more
socially exclusive. Britain can't succeed as a closed shop
society. I have been listening first-hand to both young people
and experts about how we can help more people pursue a
professional career. Britain's got talent - it's time
to unlock it."
"These new figures show that more needs to be done to make
sure that young people in every part of the country who have the
aptitude and ability to do so get the chance to pursue a
professional career. Without action the risk is that Britain
becomes more socially divided."
"Thankfully nearly every profession wants to do more to open
its doors to the best people. The evidence my Panel has received
has unearthed countless ways that professions are working to spot
talented people and develop them, regardless of the background
they come from. As professional employment grows in the years to
come they will need to do more still to make sure that people with
aspiration and ability get a fair crack of the whip. Our report
lays down a challenge to all the professions, as well as employers
and the Government to now go further and faster in breaking down
the practical barriers that stand in the way of talented young
people across the country being able to realise their aspirations."
The case studies highlighted in the Good Practice report
demonstrate how to provide young people with the knowledge, skills
and practical experience they need for a high achieving
professional career. They also show how professions and employers
are making great steps towards fairer recruitment policies and
greater flexible entry and progression routes into top jobs.
Examples of proven initiatives from the report include:
* Schools: Morpeth School in East London has developed a strong
alumni base for their school, where former students go back to
talk to students about university and give career advice. The
school organises visits for parents to universities and keeps in
touch with students until aged 25 to help them manage the
transition to university. Of 35 students from families with no
history of higher education, who started the programme in year 9,
21 went on to university.
* Universities: Pathways into the Professions is a scheme run by
Edinburgh University to encourage children from local state
schools into Law, Medicine, Veterinary Science and Architecture
through advice and support on university applications and
information sessions for parents. The programme runs across all 46
schools in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
* Employers: IntoUniversity (a corporately funded programme)
works with children from the age of seven who have academic
potential but are at risk of underachieving. Students receive
long-term academic support and personal development through
mentoring with undergraduates and aspirational training courses.
* Professions: the Engineering Council UK accredit engineers
through a range of professional entry routes. There are different
qualification routes for each and engineers can progress from one
to another. There are no fixed accredited courses and many
engineers are self taught.
The Panel's stakeholder
consultation also highlighted gaps where more can be done to
improve the pathways of entry into a high-status career. The Fair
Access Panel will continue to examine these barriers and form
their final recommendations upon these issues:
1. Knowledge,
information and aspiration: A lack of understanding and
information on professional roles and the need for mentoring,
outreach and professional role models.
2. Education and talent development pathways: competition for
university places has led to more importance being placed on
softer skills - a requirement that often favours young people from
higher socio-economic backgrounds.
3. Practical experience and managing risks: Practical experience
is increasingly important to securing a professional job but costs
associated with longer-term internships can be prohibitive.
4. Fair Selection processes and policies: Some professions still
lack structured recruitment processes
5. Flexible routes for entry and progression: The graduate route
is still the most common route into the professions and
recruitment techniques can be narrow in outlook and restrictive in
format, edging out young people from less well-off backgrounds.
Notes to Editors
1. The Panel was announced in January as part of the
Government's New Opportunities White Paper, outlining the
Government's strategy to improve social mobility.
2. The Fair Access Panel was commissioned by the Prime Minister
to review the processes and structures that govern recruitment
into the professions, and make recommendations to both the
Government and the Professions on action that will improve access
for all. The Panel will make its final recommendations in the
early summer.
3. The Panel consists of eighteen representatives from the
Professions, (including the media, law, business and finance,
architecture, politics, and medicine) with the Rt. Hon. Alan
Milburn MP as Chair. For a full list of representatives and
Professions and further information see:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/accessprofessions
4. The data on professional and managerial opportunities by
region shows the number of people in professional and managerial
occupations as proportion of the total employed in the local
labour market for regions of England and Wales. It is sourced from
the Office for National Statistics Neighbourhood Statistics
available at: http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/
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