Tackling barriers to entry: Our partnership with Working Options

We've partnered with Working Options to help young people from underprivileged areas discover careers in corporate communications and public relations.

The lack of diversity in corporate communications and public relations stems from two systemic issues.

First, school leavers aren't aware of corporate communications and public relations as a career choice and face barriers entering practice when they do discover it.

Second, practitioners leave mid-career because they're not supported with learning and development, or their lived experience isn't valued.

These issues are acute for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, as well as under-represented and under-served groups including Black and ethnic minority practitioners, the LGBTQ+ community, women returners and those with disabilities.

Sarah Waddington and I created Socially Mobile to address the second issue. We've now partnered with Working Options to tackle the first.

Working Options runs initiatives in schools in underprivileged areas across the UK, helping young people into work. It is completely aligned with our goal of providing opportunities to underrepresented communities.

Working Options delivers a Career Pathways Programme directly and digitally with volunteers in more than 100 schools and colleges, engaging 28,000 young people each year. The programme includes online learning, masterclasses, talks from industry volunteers, business challenges, and access to work experience, apprenticeships and entry-level jobs.

Our goal is to mobilise our graduate and wider Socially Mobile community to share their experience of a career in corporate communications and public relations, and the pathways into practice.

Thanks to longtime community member Josh Wheeler for making the introduction.

Get involved

If you’d like to help, get in touch with us or volunteer with Working Options directly.