Eurofins

The circumstances into which individuals are born tend to have a strong influence on their opportunities in life. Businesses can play an important role in ensuring equal access to opportunities and supporting social mobility.

In this article, we discuss how companies can balance commercial interests while making a positive impact, and hear from Mark Carnaghan to learn how Eurofins Food & Water Testing UK is supporting upward social mobility through the company’s collaboration with The Social Mobility Foundation.  

What is social mobility?

Social mobility is a concept that considers people’s socioeconomic circumstances and the degree to which they can change over a lifetime.

Multiple studies have shown that, despite their talent and determination, people who are born into low-income families are not as likely to benefit from the same opportunities as people from more privileged backgrounds.

In a society with high social mobility, someone could be born to economically disadvantaged parents but still have the same likelihood of opportunities as someone from a more prosperous home.

In an ideal world, a person’s future would be influenced by their potential regardless of their socioeconomic status, but unfortunately this isn’t always the case.

Companies can play a major role in supporting organisations breaking this barrier to improve equality in employment.

Is promoting social mobility good for business?

Research by McKinsey & Company indicates that there is a positive correlation between a diverse workforce and strong financial performance.

Having team members from varied backgrounds ensures more robust decision-making. If these team members take up management or leadership positions, they serve as role models and can better understand the lived experiences and thought-processes of other staff from disadvantaged backgrounds, which leads to higher employee satisfaction and morale.

How can businesses boost upward social mobility?

Facilitating upward social mobility is a complex task, but companies can be part of the solution.

• For instance, employers can monitor their recruitment funnel to identify areas where they may be at risk of unintentionally excluding candidates based on their socioeconomic background. They can also consider offering remote-based screenings and interviews to reduce commuting time and costs for candidates.
• Recruit with a view to upskilling candidates with great potential who may not fulfil 100% of the job requirements. Within the Eurofins network of companies, we support the professional development of our team members. In this way, we improve employee satisfaction and retention, and facilitate internal mobility by expanding the talent pool for management or leadership roles.
• Last but not least, it’s essential to widen your recruitment net and consider ways in which you can attract people from all backgrounds to join your company. For example, Eurofins Food & Water Testing UK has been collaborating with The Social Mobility Foundation to provide mentorship, guidance, and work opportunities to young people in the UK from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We asked Mark Carnaghan, Managing Director at Eurofins Food & Water Testing UK and Eurofins Foundation Steering Committee member, to tell us more about how this partnership came about.

Q: How did this partnership with the Social Mobility Foundation come about?

“In 2020, the UK Social Mobility Foundation was granted financial support from the Eurofins Foundation, which invests in various social entrepreneurship projects, as well as initiatives to improve health and nutrition, protect the environment, promote diversity and inclusion, and support students in STEM and local communities,” Mark describes. “In 2022/2023, the Eurofins Foundation is supporting 93 projects worldwide, 13 of which involve social entrepreneurship.”

“Between 2020 and 2022, funds from the Eurofins Foundation directly enabled the UK Social Mobility Foundation to deliver its Aspiring Professionals Programme to almost 1,000 students from low-income backgrounds interested in STEM fields to help them reach their full potential.”

“The programme aims to improve the participants’ understanding of STEM careers, and boost their access to top UK universities, commercial awareness, and confidence,” Mark adds.

“Students join the Aspiring Professionals Programme during their twelfth year of education, aged between 16 to 18, and stay on the programme for at least five years throughout university. Many programme participants are the first in their family to go to university,” Mark reveals.

“After financially supporting this programme for three years through the Eurofins Foundation, our team at Eurofins Food & Water Testing UK set up a call with the Social Mobility Foundation to see if there were other ways in which we could get involved and assist low-income students with an interest in pursuing a career in STEM,” Mark recounts.

Q: So how is Eurofins Food & Water Testing UK supporting the UK Social Mobility Foundation’s efforts?

“Eurofins Food & Water Testing UK offers three pillars of support to STEM students on the Aspiring Professionals Programme,” Mark explains.

1.    Mentoring

“Six seasoned employees from Eurofins Food & Water Testing UK voluntarily signed up to be paired with students interested in following the same career path as them, and act as a mentor.”

2.    Paid work placements and internships

“We created opportunities for students to undertake paid work placements/internships at our company in the summer of 2023 to enable them to gain first-hand, practical experience in their area of interest.”

3.    Career insight events

“Last month (June 2023), we hosted a virtual ‘Future Days’ event to explain the various career options for students in a multitude of STEM sectors, and what a long-term role at Eurofins Food & Water Testing UK could offer them.”

Q: What is the most important thing you have learned through this partnership? 

“Talking social mobility is easy; addressing it requires more effort,” Mark expresses.

“Through our partnership with the UK Social Mobility Foundation, I’ve learned that it’s essential to match the needs of the charity and the STEM students it supports with practical solutions we can offer with the resources we have available, whether that’s one-on-one time with experienced STEM professionals or on-the-job learning at the laboratory."

"The most important thing is that there is mutual benefit to the company, the charity and the people they support so that everyone wins,” Mark emphasises.

“After all, advancing social mobility isn’t just the right thing to do,” Mark concludes.

“It opens up a whole new world of potential future candidates and leaders for the company. It’s simply good business!”