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The writer, chairman of the British Social Mobility Commission, is the director and CEO of Blackpool and Fylde College
Ben is 20 and lives in the homeless hostel in Blackpool. At first I met him when I joined Blackpool and Fylde College last summer. He told me how he was asked to leave the family house, ended up in a temporary shelter surrounded by adults with serious drug and alcohol problems. He attended a university course before derailed his life – now he wanted to return to the right administration and return to study. His ambition was to get an apartment and a decent job and have a “right” family.
Unfortunately, this story is too well known – and a good illustration of what conventional social mobility policy goes wrong. If Ben was more successful, many charity organizations would be excited if she had it in her programs, offering coaching, helping with university applications, interviews and visits, with a network of supportive “champions” and anything else that didn't provide his background.
But this profile does not match. And in sharp contrast with the initiatives of “extension of participation” that support access to the university, support for people like Ben, sparse and chaotic. The government calls them “Neet” (not at work, education or training), and this group of nearly 1mn-is one of every eight 16 to 24 years-grow.
There is no obvious network of charity NETS and public interventions are fragmented. Responsibility for identifying and supporting 16 to 19 years do not go into education and training with local authorities that have little ability to design or perform interventions. Meanwhile, 19 to 24 years under the Ministry of Labor and Pensions, which is a completely different agency with a limited “service” that directs them to work or training. He doesn't get what these young people need to start a working life.
There will be a number of bold efforts throughout the country. However, such initiatives have no resources social mobility Charity for disadvantaged students who are academically capable. Although yes, there is no easy way to deal with challenges such as family disintegration and communities.
Post -industrial age brought extensive social changeto which cities were better equipped to react than cities. The old idea of the “community” does not hold for many.
There is a strong visiting economy and stimulating signs of regeneration in Blackpool. However, the inheritance of the former guest houses-on our non-functional social security system has subsidized the dwellings of more faces and low-quality private private housing. She had her family thrust Ben into this dark world: for a young person, many risks about alcohol, drugs and crime can undermine their potential well.
Thus, the Barriers of Social Mobility in the UK are much more complicated and more difficult than the mainstream debate suggests. In our recent “innovation generation” report, we called on the support of social mobility that will be in line with real challenges, starting with geographical differences. Education is always important and not only for the development of skills. Universities transfer research into business applications and new ecosystems that support businesses throughout the country, which improves the chances of local life. But it is not enough in themselves – the family and the community are thus influential in shaping individual results. This is a big agenda, but it would really improve opportunities for most.
If Ben was the only one who needed help, then ours could be enough. We found a friendly employer ready to give him a chance. Now it is up to him to constantly appear and see the importance of this spring stone. Open-thought employers, however, can only make their bit in a support environment.
