Financial Conduct Authority see the Social Mobility Pledge in action at True Potential

Earlier this year we became one of the first companies to sign the Social Mobility Pledge, which commits businesses to working with schools, offering apprenticeships, and adopting fair recruitment policies. The aim is to create a more level playing field where an individual’s career chances are based on their talent, and we’re proud to be leading the way for Social Mobility in financial services.

Christopher Woolard, Chair of the Equality and Diversity Committee at the Financial Conduct Authority, and several of his colleagues, visited True Potential Head Office in early November and were shown around by Senior Partner, Daniel Harrison, to learn more about how we’ve improved Social Mobility. One of the things we are most proud of is our True Potential Academy, which gives career development opportunities to young people. Mr Woolard was introduced to some of our apprentices, including Lucy Ingram, a 25 year old who started out as one of our receptionists. Lucy is now part of our Academy, and is training to become a developer.

Our commitment to Social Mobility actually precedes the Pledge. Five years ago we donated £1.4 million to the Open University, launching the True Potential Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance. These free personal finance courses have served to help young people, with over 375,000 registrations and substantial positive feedback.

In addition to this, we also launched our Savings Gap research in 2013. We’ve produced a Savings Gap report in every quarter since. The most recent results show that an income of £23,000 is needed annually in retirement to live comfortably. However, based on actual savings behaviour , people in the UK are on course to receive an income of just £6,000 per year from their retirement fund.

You can learn more about the Social Mobility Pledge here.