As a business, we believe in opening our doors to people from all walks of life and making a positive difference to transform people’s lives.
We are a social mobility employer and work in some of the most marginalised communities in the UK.
Along with our Group Head of Customer Success, Tracey Lyth, I recently had the privilege to meet with MP Justine Greening and talk all things Social Impact, with a specific focus on the Social Mobility Pledge.
Justine talked about the wider challenges facing government and her ambition for Social Mobility and the Pledge.
As one of only twelve recognised UK Champions for Social Mobility, she was particularly interested in the work that Mears are doing in this space (like our approach, our successes, Thought Leader, Innovation & our ambitions for the future).
We also talked about the challenges we faced as a business and how we needed the Government to help realise the opportunities created by the Social Value Act and Social Mobility Compact.
We had an honest conversation with Justine about the need for the Government to do more, this includes setting the standard by making Social Value a bigger part of the procurement process when Government are spending public money.
Justine was genuinely intrigued by our conversation and congratulated us on our proactive approach to making a social impact.
She described our Thought Leader project (better enforcement of the act, consistent measurement (consortium) and creating a smart SV client) as innovative and something she would be happy to endorse – she recognised the work we are doing as a real enabler to support other organisations doing more.
The Social Mobility Pledge is a cross-party campaign to improve social mobility in the UK, sponsored by Rt Hon. Justine Greening MP:
"Britain should be a country where you can get on in life, regardless of your background. Improving social mobility is a defining challenge for us as a nation. We have talent spread evenly across this great country, but the opportunity isn’t.
"Businesses, with the prosperity and careers they create for people, are key to improving social mobility.
"Any business that commits to our Social Mobility Pledge can sign up to become an accredited employer."
Recognising Mears’ commitment and best practice, we are delighted that Justin has invited us to be the Social Mobility Pledge Champion for the ‘Services’ sector and asked us to help support others in our sectors to follow our lead and deliver more in this space.
Having the opportunity to work with Government to drive the Social Impact/Mobility agenda is very exciting and a testament to our commitment to becoming part of the communities we work in and helping people in those communities to thrive.
Being able to share our best practice and influence future change, through our Thought Leader initiatives, can only help our clients and encourage wider organisations across the UK to create a compelling business case to do more in this space.