Social Inclusion is one of the three key pillars of our Diversity & Inclusion strategy.

 

We aim to place a strong focus on providing career development opportunities for people regardless of their social, educational and financial backgrounds. We firmly believe that providing opportunities to a more socially diverse range of people will enrich our business.

To help us deliver on this, in 2022 we began a partnership with the Drive Forward Foundation. Drive Forward helps young adults leaving foster or residential care to achieve their full potential with exciting and sustainable employment opportunities. 

In 2022 we: 

  • Held an inspiration session with Drive Forward introducing a group of care-experienced young people to opportunities in the digital sector 
  • Began the process of one-to-one mentoring with a number of care-experienced people from Drive Forward 
  • We established a work experience programme and hold regular events to provide candidates from socially diverse backgrounds with inspiration, skills and pathways into employment 
  • Participated in BIMA Digital Day at a London school, working with students from all backgrounds to educate and inspire them around career opportunities in digital 
  • Hired our first apprentice, with a commitment to hire another in 2023 to reflect our ambitions around social inclusion

Our work continues, with more events and initiatives planned for 2023.