By Ashley Young
Law firms are being asked to remove the names, grades and names of universities of candidates from application forms in order to tackle the UK’s ‘stagnant social mobility’, a former cabinet minister has said.
Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility Foundation wants employers to transform their system of recruitment systems and make it more inclusive and diversified. He claims claiming people from working class backgrounds are being locked out of professional careers.
It follows research by the Social Mobility Foundation which indicates that eight in 10 people hired by law firms attended Russell Group universities, even when in some cases only half of the applicants went to those institutions. Applicants who attended Russell group universities are expected to be intellectually stronger and more competent than those who attended less quality university, but the presumption is not always true.
Law is a broad and challenging course, involving plenty of case law, knowledge of statute and a wide range of legal journals required to supplement legal research. Past research has shown that some law students struggle so much with their course, they hire graduates to write their essays for them. Those caught can be expelled for plagiarism. Those who graduate on their merit join the competitive queue for work after completing a costly one year preliminary course before practising.
Milburn has started a campaign called ‘CVs Aren’t Working’, asking employers to remove applicants’ names, universities, and/or grades from application forms; to make interview panelists diverse in socioeconomic background; to ensure that work experience placements have formal recruitment processes; and to check that internal culture is inclusive of people from different walks of life.
The campaign will be circulated around the key employer districts in London. Milburn said: ‘How employers recruit is exacerbating the UK’s social mobility problem. By overly focusing on a small number of selective universities and fee-paying schools they are locking out talent. CVs are a big part of the problem.
‘By taking practical steps to revise how they recruit, employers can open their doors to a far wider pool of potential. They should trial removing names, universities, schools and grades to ensure they’re judging potential rather than simply past academic performance and social polish. That way employers can help themselves and help address the UK’s stagnant social mobility.’
It is unlikely for many law firms would agree to the idea.