Supporting Social Mobility through opportunity: Why WIBF is proud to work with Career Ready

Across financial services and beyond, too many young people still face barriers shaped by background, networks, geography, confidence, education or access to professional environments. For many, the challenge is not a lack of ambition or ability, but simply not having the same visibility, support or connections as others.

That is why social mobility matters. And it is why organisations like Career Ready are so important.

Career Ready is a national social mobility charity working at the heart of a growing network of educators and employers who believe every young person deserves the opportunity to kickstart a rewarding future. For more than 20 years, the organisation has helped connect young people aged 15–18 with the world of work through mentoring, paid internships, workplace visits and career-focused learning experiences.

Their work is practical, structured and focused on long-term impact, helping young people develop not only skills and experience, but also confidence, networks and a stronger sense of what is possible for their future.

At a time when conversations around social mobility are becoming increasingly urgent, Career Ready’s work offers a clear example of how employers can make a tangible difference.

Why social mobility remains a major challenge

The UK continues to have some of the lowest levels of social mobility in the developed world. A young person’s future opportunities are still too often shaped by circumstances outside of their control.

Research consistently shows that access to professional careers can be influenced by factors including household income, educational opportunity, geography, caring responsibilities, social networks and exposure to role models. The impact starts early and often compounds over time.

Career Ready highlights that:

• People from more affluent backgrounds are significantly more likely to access professional careers 
• Pandemic-related learning loss is predicted to further reduce social mobility 
• Greater business investment in social mobility could contribute up to £19 billion to UK GDP 

These challenges are not only social issues. They are also business issues.

Industries including financial services need diverse thinking, broader perspectives and stronger representation if they are to remain innovative, sustainable and reflective of the customers and communities they serve.

Yet for many young people, particularly those from under-represented backgrounds, professional industries can still feel inaccessible or unfamiliar.

That is where early workplace exposure can become transformative.

Connecting young people to the world of work

Career Ready’s programme is designed to bridge the gap between education and employment by helping young people build practical workplace experience and confidence before entering the workforce.

The programme combines four interconnected experiences:

• Mentoring 
• Paid internships 
• Masterclasses 
• Workplace visits 

Together, these experiences help students build career knowledge, professional skills and support networks that may otherwise have been unavailable to them.

The results are significant.

According to Career Ready:

• 98% of 2024 alumni progressed into higher education, employment or apprenticeships 
• 96% said their self-confidence increased 
• 97% felt more able to make informed career decisions 
• 93% rated their skills as a strength by the end of the programme 

These figures highlight something important: when young people are given access, support and opportunity, confidence and ambition can grow quickly.

Career Ready also supports students beyond the programme itself through a UK-wide alumni network of more than 4,000 former participants, helping maintain connections, encouragement and continued development opportunities.

The power of mentoring and workplace exposure

One of the most powerful elements of the Career Ready programme is its focus on human connection.

For young people without existing professional networks, simply meeting people working within industries like financial services can have a profound impact. Exposure helps make careers feel more real, more visible and more attainable.

Mentoring plays a particularly important role in this.

A mentor can help a young person build confidence, navigate uncertainty, understand workplace expectations and recognise strengths they may not yet see in themselves. Equally, mentors themselves often describe the experience as rewarding, perspective-shifting and energising.

At WIBF, we regularly see the impact mentoring can have at every career stage. It can build confidence, widen aspirations and create opportunities that might otherwise never emerge.

Workplace experiences also matter enormously. Internships, office visits and professional interactions help young people understand not just what jobs exist, but how workplaces operate and where they might fit within them.

As Career Ready alumnus Emily Clarke explains:

“Before my Career Ready internship, I didn’t know about the career opportunities in my area. Without Career Ready I would have most definitely moved away from home and worked somewhere else. This is not something I wanted to do, I just thought it was the choice I had.”

Stories like Emily’s highlight how exposure and opportunity can fundamentally change the choices young people feel available to them.

How employers can get involved

Career Ready works with employers across the UK – from large corporations to SMEs and charities – helping them create meaningful opportunities for young people.

Importantly, the organisation recognises that smaller organisations can sometimes face practical or financial barriers when offering internships or structured work experience. Yet SMEs and charities often play a hugely important role within local communities and can provide valuable workplace learning opportunities.

To help address this, Career Ready is launching Internship Investment Funding for SMEs and charities with 10 or more employees.

The funding supports organisations to host a young person on the Career Ready programme for a paid four-week internship during July and August 2026.

The internships include:

• UK Living Wage funding covered through the programme 
• A formal interview process 
• Predefined job descriptions and project examples 
• A blend of office-based and remote working 
• Structured support throughout the process 

Participating organisations are also asked to provide a mentor from within their business to support the young person during the programme.

This approach helps reduce barriers for employers while ensuring students gain meaningful, supported experiences.

The impact is clear:

• 97% of students who completed internships felt more confident making career decisions 
• 80% of employers said they would hire their Career Ready intern 

Why this matters for financial services

For financial services organisations, supporting social mobility is not simply about corporate responsibility. It is about strengthening the future pipeline of talent across the industry.

Creating pathways into financial services for people from a wider range of backgrounds helps build more representative leadership, broader thinking and stronger innovation over time.

It also helps challenge assumptions around who belongs within the industry.

Looking ahead

Improving social mobility requires collective action. It requires employers, educators, charities and individuals all working together to widen access and opportunity.

Career Ready’s work demonstrates how impactful that collaboration can be.

By connecting young people to mentoring, professional networks and real workplace experience, the organisation is helping thousands of students build confidence, broaden aspirations and access opportunities that may once have felt out of reach.

To learn more about Career Ready, explore partnership opportunities or find out how to get involved, visit Career Ready’s website.