Social mobility is the idea that everyone, regardless of their socio-economic background, should be able to thrive and have the same career opportunities as everyone else.

Support at Aston

Our Student Advice team can give you information about financial assistance and funding. They can also support you if you’re a care leaver. You can also find out what scholarships Aston offers.

Listening Ear is a pastoral support drop-in service based on campus. It offers the following support for students, regardless of religious affiliation: confidential, non-judgemental listening; help in times of distress; signposting to specialist sources of help (including faith contacts if you wish).

There are a variety of mentoring schemes available at Aston which are designed to enable students, alumni and professionals alike to have the opportunity to support the Aston student community, develop skills, expand networks and share experiences. You will have the opportunity to engage in mentoring activities at every stage of your learning journey.

Useful resources

The following organisations and resources can offer further support and advice:

TARGETjobs: equality and diversity issues, and your graduate job hunt - You can find advice on a range of key equality and diversity issues in this article. They look at your rights during the recruitment process, disclosing information to your employers and more. 

Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers - This is a definitive list of UK-based organisations that promote inclusion across all protected characteristics, throughout each level of employment within their organisation.

Social Mobility Business Compact - A list of businesses who have signed up to the Social Mobility Business Compact.

Social Mobility Foundation - A charity that aims to make a practical improvement in social mobility for young people. You can find out more about the Aspiring Professionals Programme on their website, as well as view the Social Mobility Employer Index, which ranks Britain’s employers on the actions they are taking to ensure they’re open to accessing and progressing talent from all backgrounds.

Totaljobs Guides - If you’ve got questions about work equality, take a look at these expert guides from Totaljobs which cover topics such as how to ask for a pay rise, gender transitioning in the workplace, what it’s like to be deaf in the workplace and more. 

The Sutton Trust - This organisation champions social mobility through programmes, research and policy influence.

Opportunities

There are a range of programmes, initiatives and events which are designed specifically for students and graduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Some of these open up or take place at various points throughout the year. We’ve listed some below, as well as a selection of inclusive jobs portals which you could use to look for opportunities:

CRCC Asia
CRCC Asia provides award-winning global internship programmes to help boost your global employability. They offer various funding opportunities to ensure their programme is as accessible as possible.

Creative Access
This organisation supports talented people from groups that are under-represented in terms of ethnicity, socio-economic background and disability to secure paid training opportunities in creative companies and also thrive when they get in.

SEO London
They prepare talented students from ethnic minority or low socio-economic backgrounds for career success. They run a range of programmes that are led by industry professionals.

TARGETjobs
TARGETjobs have created a series of events to give students the advice, confidence and contacts they need to secure their dream career. They also run the annual Undergraduate of the Year Awards which has a category for the First Generation Undergraduate of the Year Award.

The Sutton Trust programmes
The Sutton Trust runs a range of programmes that give students practical advice, and leave them feeling inspired and more confident about their future.

VERCIDA
VERCIDA is the UK’s largest diversity and inclusion-focused career hub for recruiters and jobseekers. As well as promoting jobs with inclusive employers, they provide resources for a range of applicants including, those with disabilities, those aged over 50, LGBTQ+ applicants, religious applicants and more.