Public optimism falls as 62% of people in the South East say COVID-19 has made social mobility more difficult

COVID-19 is making it harder for people to achieve better opportunities in life, including women and those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, according to PwC’s latest social mobility research which surveyed 4,000 people across the UK.

As the Government plans a post-pandemic catch-up to ensure those from the most deprived backgrounds and future generations are not further disadvantaged, PwC’s Driving Social Mobility research highlights the biggest barriers people face to reach their potential, and how the Government and businesses can help improve social inequalities.

Nationally and regionally the public lacks optimism for the prospects of future generations. Whilst 61% of those in the South East say they have had more opportunities than their parents, only 54% believe younger generations will have the same or better opportunities.

Nationally and across the generations, there are different views on barriers to social mobility. Those aged over 55 believe skills and education are the biggest barriers. Younger people (18-34 year olds) are more likely to see ethnicity and lack of a support network (27%), gender, disabilities, and the place where people grow up (24%) as the biggest hurdles.

Respondents from ethnic minority backgrounds feel the biggest barriers to people achieving their potential are ethnicity (38%), compared to 23% of the wider population, followed by gender (28%), disability (25%), lack of support network growing up (24%) and area grew up in (23%).

Significantly more men than women felt ethnicity (25% vs 20%), sexual orientation (13% vs 9%), and religious beliefs (11% vs 7%) are stopping people from achieving their full potential. However, more women (31% vs 21%) felt that the lack of support network was the main thing holding people back.

The South East and businesses’ role in closing the gap

The public are united in wanting business to play a key role in securing the social mobility of future generations, by offering better work experience and career pathways, and greater investment in apprenticeships and skills.

Almost seven in ten (69%) people in the South East think the government should work with local businesses to offer more hands-on experience as part of the education catch-up process from the pandemic. A further 77% said businesses should work with schools and education providers to raise awareness of career opportunities.

More than two-thirds (71%) of respondents in the South East said that businesses should open up non-graduate routes into employment, and 58% said that less emphasis should be placed on academic qualifications. A further 76% said that businesses should offer initial work placements.

However, people across the South East found an overall sense of personal responsibility when it came to determining who is accountable for the direction of their lives compared with national results. Over half (52%) said it was the individual’s responsibility to secure a well-paying job compared with 45% nationally. Furthermore, 54% believed the onus was on the individual in ensuring their career of choice (over 50% nationally) and in avoiding having to rely on state benefits (51% vs 46% nationally).

PwC is helping address these concerns in the South East by supporting the Be the Change programme, an inspirational initiative aimed at helping students who may face challenges and difficulties to realise their full potential. The programme focuses on happiness, confidence, hope, relationships and employability, and encourages students to identify their personal barriers to success before helping them find ways of overcoming them.

Keith Harrington, PwC South East regional chairman, said:

“This research is a stark warning that the pandemic risks putting social mobility into reverse. While older people have been hit hardest in terms of health issues from COVID, without action the younger generation will be the most economically and socially affected.

“COVID-19 has not only exposed the precariousness of the care system, it has also exposed the fragility of our societal construction. Urgent action is needed to put jobs, education and skills for young people at the heart of the Government’s levelling up agenda.

“The public wants businesses to take action and to work with government to create guidance and opportunities for people to progress further in life. At PwC across the South East we have been addressing this by various methods such as the Be the Change student programme and our Good Growth for Cities campaign, which identifies those areas prime for upskilling opportunities.”