Widening the pool from which top employers hire gradates when there are not enough jobs to go round smacks of poor timing. But that is the goal that Leading London, an initiative launched by London First, the employers group, and FreshMinds Talent, the recruitment consultants, has set itself.
The programme aims to talent-spot students from diverse backgrounds studying at post-1992 universities (former polytechnics), and introduce them to City employers and blue-chip corporations.
Advocates of the programme say action to promote social mobility has never been more necessary. When the economy was booming, employers saw under-represented groups, such as ethnic minorities, lower social income groups and women, as “hidden talent pools”. Now, however, many diversity programmes are being squeezed.