Greening’s social mobility pledge attracts heavyweight retailers

John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Vodafone have signed up to a new social mobility pledge being spearheaded by former minister Justine Greening.

The pledge, launched in March, commits companies to working with local schools and colleges, offering
apprenticeships and adopt open recruitment polices such as name-blind or contextual recruitment.

The three retail giants employ more than 183,000 people between them and follow the likes of ITV, BT, Adidas, PwC and KPMG in doing so. Simultaneously, the Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce and Federation of Small Business have asked their members to sign up.

Co-founder Greening, who left government during February's reshuffle after becoming the first education secretary to have studied at comprehensive school, has long championed social mobility.

She said: “Improving our poor social mobility is this countrys biggest challenge, but our biggest opportunity. Britain will not truly succeed until it becomes a country where there is equality of opportunity for the first time.

“I know first-hand how hard it can be to smash the class ceiling that still exists. Too often where you are going in your life is dictated by where you started and that is simply unacceptable.”

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CityAM

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