Breaking the class ceiling

It’s safe to say that people in the UK have very different perceptions of class. A recent British Social Attitudes Survey revealed that, unlike in other Western nations, nearly half of British people in middle-class professions identify as working class.

Interviewers discovered that these solidly middle-class people, whose parents had also been professionals, were framing their narrative through the sometimes meritocratic struggles of their grandparents, and even great grandparents.

But it should be clear by now that these perceptions are near-fantastical. The pandemic has shown us that a person’s symbolic, historical and narrative relationship to class is one thing, but present circumstances are entirely another.
While some professionals have lost their jobs and taken up front-line positions, the pattern is clear. Those who were working class at the start of the pandemic have shouldered its burden. Those who were middle class, despite challenges such as the difficulties of home-schooling, have seen their financial position increase. Migrating between the two is not easy.

Breaking the chain

It’s therefore vital that children are able to break the link between what their parents do for a job and what they choose to do for a job. The level of openness of the professions is key to achieving that goal.

But FTSE 250 companies, says Danny Heath, founder of YourGamePlan, are continuing to look in the traditional place – Russell Group graduates. This is a problem, he argues, because it not only unfairly keeps non-graduate talent out of stable, well-paying jobs, but also narrows the variety of clients to which the company appeals. 

‘Companies should reflect the communities they serve,’ says Heath. But ‘keep fishing in the same pool and you’ll catch the same fish’. And presumably the same clients too.

Finance is one area where openness is increasing – so said panelists at a Guardian Live event sponsored by ACCA. But the same panelists also warned that routes into finance without a degree are typically less structured, and success relies in no small part on both luck and resilience.

‘I left school with zero qualifications,’ said Tim Kelland FCCA, an assistant director and accountant at Public Health Wales. ‘As a school leaver at 16, I worked in the post room at one of the local hospitals and, one day, someone got run over by a bus and I was asked to cover for her.’ Kelland has been there for 36 years, but only began to qualify as an accountant aged 30.

Removing luck

Christina Christoforou described how luck played a similar role in her rise to entrepreneur, founder and director of CMNC Associates. After leaving school with a ‘D’ in maths, her aunt persuaded the law firm at which she worked to take Christoforou on as an accounts junior.
Despite early success, Christoforou eventually found her way blocked by lack of qualifications and, like Kelland, chose to qualify as an accountant. ‘I liked that there were no minimum requirements to start with ACCA,’ she said.  

Heath wants to do away with that luck part. His business, YourGamePlan, works with schools, students and employers to help school leavers to understand career options, and develop the soft skills required to succeed. It also partners with employers to create sector-specific courses that help improve access. 

‘So many businesses in the FTSE 250 tell me that they want a more diverse pipeline,’ said Heath, but added that the work is not being done to build it. ‘I didn’t do well in the system and teachers still pushed me towards university. How can the only solution to not doing well in the system be to stay in the system?’

Do your homework

Heath also said that knowing what your options are is key. Bola Lawal ACCA, a regulatory finance professional at Santander, was prepared for her career by a social mobility charity that offered and supported an apprenticeship route into finance.

‘There’s so much information out there,’ said Lawal, ‘and different organisations are willing to support young people. But you have to take the time to go and look for it.’ Heath hopes that with YourGamePlan those options will become more obvious. 

The arguments for diversity in business are well and regularly made. But change seems to follow slowly. Kelland argued that there is another reason why, after the pandemic, businesses should look beyond their traditional graduate pool. His experience on placement in Namibia at the height of the Aids crisis showed him that those from radically poorer backgrounds often know how to do far more with far less.

As countries tighten their belts after massive public spending on social welfare during the pandemic, that kind of knowledge might very well be in high demand.