More major employers are looking at 'alternative' recruits — people from disadvantaged backgrounds, from ethnic minority communities — who aren't necessarily the standard white, middle-class entrant.
For example, Lloyds/TSB has recently announced a plan to fund 5,000 apprenticeships, with a 30% target to recruit people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Consultancy PWC is planning to offer entry via its own higher apprenticeships scheme, appealing to those people who haven't or can't follow the conventional A-levels and university route.
On one level this trend suggests Corporate Social Responsibility activity is driving recruitment strategies. A benefit of this approach may be a stream of younger (and cheaper) recruits who can be moulded to suit the demands of a particular company culture.
But something more significant is happening here. These large, high-profile employers are now thinking much more about the long-term future of resourcing and the importance of diversity. They don't just want more of the same recruits. They recognise the value of matching the increasing diversity of their clients and customers, with that of their workforce. We need to be clear. This is rational, profit-maximising behaviour by employers. It isn’t a case of being soft-hearted or charitable; it’s the right business strategy.
It's also an issue of innovation: if you keep recruiting more of the same kinds of people you're going to end up going flat and stale. A nimble business will think about how it can tap into different perspectives, experiences and voices, as a basis for driving change. We only need to look at the some of the largest casualties of recent years to see what happens when a company is caught out by monolithic thinking. Diversity brings challenge, which drives success.
For many traditional universities, 'widening participation' activities are a part of their social mission, but can be severely limited by the pressure of league table rankings and the need to recruit more of the 'best' students. And for those non-traditional students who do manage to get a place at a highly-ranked university, the experience can be a challenging one, as they contend with both the demands of higher study and also a very established — and essentially middle-class — culture. Despite the rising numbers of people entering HE in the UK, and the greater diversity of the student population, recent research by the NUS has highlighted instances of racism and snobbery, and the role of HE in standardising students in terms of behaviour and ways of thinking.
Rather than imposing a standard model on students and young people generally, we need to listen and be more flexible, to shape HE offerings that allow diversity to be preserved, and to be celebrated. A positive approach to diversity is needed, based on recognition of its value to employers. (I’d add that we should also recognise the benefits of a more diverse HE sector too). Working together, we can replace the traditional production line of people who look and act the same, and open up more varied streams of talent. Businesses, organisations, individuals and society will be all the better for it.
Professor Alison Wride is a professor of economics and provost at GSM London (formerly the Greenwich School of Management).
