We need a major re-think of what success looks like in the 21st Century.
In response to new research from the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission which found that the UK is deeply elitist, Prof Steve West, Chair of University Alliance, welcomed this illuminating research.
He said:
“We totally agree that a lack of diversity in key professions such as politics, media and the judiciary inhibits understanding of the issues facing people from different backgrounds. They are unrepresentative of the public they are supposed to be serving.
“University Alliance believes we need a major re-think of what success looks like in the 21st Century. Our recent report Closing the gap: Unlocking opportunity through higher education, revealed how social mobility and higher education in the UK has been too focused on access, and within that, access to a very small number of universities. The reality is that there is a massive breadth of routes to success and huge diversity of opportunity in the global, technology-rich graduate employment market.
“The key professions are waking up to the wealth of talent on offer as a result of recruiting more widely. For example, University Alliance has been working with Clifford Chance to run open days for Alliance students as part of their mission to ensure that background is neither a barrier to the legal profession or a successful career at the prestigious law firm.”
