Social mobility

Introduction

Broadly, social mobility in the workplace means that people should have equal opportunities regardless of their socio-economic background – and that includes being able to apply for, obtain and advance in roles that might be above or below their perceived social status or class, without judgement or being discriminated against.

At LSE Careers, we’re in the process of creating an offering of targeted careers support for students who are:

  • the first generation of their family to attend university and who attended a UK state school 
  • care-experienced
  • have caring responsibilities
  • LSE bursary holders.
  • Entitled to free school meals at state school

If you identify with one or more of the criteria above, sign up to our mailing list to hear about the additional support available to you.

By registering your interest, you will be added to a circulation list to receive updates on targeted careers support, employer events and programmes.

As with all data held on CareerHub, you can ask for it to be removed at any time by contacting careers@lse.ac.uk. We will normally keep CareerHub data for up to 5 years after a student completes their course.

Our initiatives

Appointments

  • You can book an online or in-person careers appointment to discuss any careers-related query, whether you have a specific question or want to start exploring the support and opportunities open to you. LSE Careers is here to support you no matter what stage you’re at in your career planning and we can highlight advice and resources relevant to you, some of which we have mentioned below.

Events

  • Throughout the year we will be organising different activities to support students develop their career and employability skills, connect with employers and hear from alumni who will share their own experiences.

    Visit our events page to see what is coming up in our termly offer.

    We work closely with LSE’s Widening Participation (WP) team to support students and young people from under-represented backgrounds. You may have already met some of our Careers team at sessions, such as the Headstart programme, which helps students transition to life at LSE.

    We also support the WP team with their events for pre-entry students from state schools, colleges and sixth forms such as the Pathways to Banking and Finance, Pathways to Law and Explore series.

    Before heading to a networking event, you might also like to check out our networking webpage.

Work-based learning

  • LSE Careers run a range of initiatives to support students with little or no work experience in gaining experience during their studies, including internships, consultancy projects, virtual learning experiences and industry challenges. Find out more about our internship schemes.

    As these projects are targeted at particular groups of students, please keep an eye on your emails, newsletters and CareerHub to find out more about these opportunities.

External resources

  • upReach (access programmes for those from less advantaged backgrounds)
  • inState (support for state school-educated university students going into corporate careers)
  • 93percent.club (social enterprise dedicated to improving social mobility)
  • SEO London (careers support for current students)

Meet the Team

James Taylor - Employer Engagment Advisor

My role is to build, grow, and maintain relationships with a variety of employers, supporting them to engage with LSE students and graduates in the most effective and meaningful ways.  

I’m incredibly passionate about promoting equal opportunities, fair hiring practices and social mobility in the workplace, and before joining LSE Careers I spent almost 7 years working on government funded contracts supporting people with multiple barriers to work to find employment

Daniel Gendle - Careers Consultant 

I have worked in careers education for the last 15 years supporting students navigate the complex world of career decision making. I also hold F.A coaching badges, so come and talk to me about anything careers (or football).   

I value supporting social mobility because I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve their full potential, regardless of their background. Demography should not equal destiny, and anything I can do to attempt to level the playing field I find incredibly rewarding.

Maria Kramer - Careers Consultant 

I love supporting students and alumni in their career development. You can talk to me by booking confidential one-to-one careers consultations with me or by coming along to the careers events and workshops I regularly deliver in term time.  

For me, career development isn’t a question only about individual choice; it’s just as much a matter of addressing and challenging existing inequalities in a society which enables some people to thrive in their careers while constraining others! I feel incredibly lucky to be part of the social mobility team at LSE Careers as this allows me to work towards the changes we urgently need to see.  

M.Kramer@lse.ac.uk