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Fair Access
What is Fair Access to the professions?
The gender pay gap has narrowed, but the top professional jobs still go to men. The professions seem to have become more socially exclusive, not less:
- 3 in 4 judges and 1 in 2 senior civil servants are still privately educated
- Today's doctors and lawyers grew up in families with incomes two-thirds higher than the average family
- Those from other diversity groups are often under-represented in the professions
100 elite schools – making up under 3% of 3,700 schools with sixth forms and sixth form colleges in the UK – accounted for a third of admissions to Oxbridge during the last five years. Sutton Trust Report on University admissions by individual schools documents the extent to which a few highly socially and academically selective schools dominate admissions to the country’s leading research universities.
Don’t let this put you off- this section provides information on initiatives by the professional bodies, the professions, schools, colleges and universities and other organisations to ensure that if you have the talent a professional careers is achievable whatever your background. We provide information from organisations helping to widen access for those from under-represented groups and disadvantaged backgrounds. Of particular interest is the information on alternative non-graduate routes into professions, which is provided in the Sector Summaries.
Here we provide information on routes into university, general information on access to the professions and information on organisations working to improve access. You will find further information in Resources.
Routes into university
Many universities run schemes to encourage those from under-represented groups to apply to university. Here we provide some examples but it is worth checking the website of any university you are interested in applying to.
Below is a selection of examples of access schemes and alternative entry routes.
University of Liverpool 1+3 and 2+2 foundation courses
The University of Liverpool runs various 1+3 and 2+2 foundation courses with local FE colleges which can progress into university degrees. These include degree programmes in medicine and dentistry, science and engineering, computer science and information systems, earth sciences, geography, mathematics and physical sciences.
University College London’s ‘Foundation Year in Engineering'
University College London’s ‘Foundation Year in Engineering' is part of a four-year degree programme in engineering, specifically designed for applicants who have not studied suitable subjects prior to entry but have attained the required academic level. The first year is an introduction to mathematics, physics and engineering principles.
Access to Birmingham (A2B)
Access to Birmingham (A2B) provides supported entry routes into higher education. This scheme consists of an online study support module to help with academic writing skills, a student shadowing experience and an essay specific to the course applied for, set and marked by university tutors.
The King’s College London Access to Medicine
The King’s College London Access to Medicine team works to encourage and enable young people from eligible areas to study at medical school or to train for careers in the health service or biomedical sciences. It includes the Extended medical Degree Programme which is a six year degree programme for students from disadvantaged backgrounds in targeted inner London boroughs to become doctors.
Access to Leeds
Access to Leeds is the University of Leeds’ alternative entry scheme, offering special consideration to applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Manchester Access Programme
The Manchester Access Programme is a structured scheme for local post-16 students who meet specific academic and background criteria. The aim of the programme is to support entry to The University of Manchester, or another research intensive university, through the completion of a portfolio of work demonstrating specific knowledge and skills. MAP gives students the opportunity to show their potential through a series of activities and tasks. Students who successfully complete the programme will have a portfolio of additional evidence which the University will use when making an offer of a place.
Cardiff University’s Step up to Health Compact Scheme
Cardiff University’s Step up to Health Compact Scheme operates over 3 years starting in year 11. It gives school pupils a number of opportunities to learn more about higher education and, in particular, about health courses and health professions. It includes a presentation evening, student mentors, summer school, mentor shadowing and a day conference on applying to university.
Sutton Trust Summer Schools
The Sutton Trust Summer Schools offer an opportunity for over 700 young people each year to try university life. The one week taster courses consist not only of lectures, seminars and tutorials, but also a varied programme of social activities, to give participants an accurate idea of life as an undergraduate at a research-led university. The programme started in 1997 at Oxford and the Trust has subsequently expanded the scheme to Bristol, Cambridge, Nottingham and St Andrews Universities.
General information on access to the professions
Unleashing Aspirations Report
Unleashing Aspirations Report – the final report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions. The government response to the Unleashing Aspirations report. Russell Group of Universities response to the Unleashing Aspirations report.
Entry to the Bar Working Party Final Report
Entry to the Bar Working Party Final Report – recommendations on improving access to the Bar for those from less privileged backgrounds.
Organisations working to improve access
National Black Boys Can Association
The National Black Boys Can Association is a community led organisation providing black boys with educational opportunities, life skills, and the self-esteem, confidence and determination to succeed. It also provides black and minority ethnic (BME) people and employers with awareness of the barriers which many BME applicants face. It also provides knowledge, support and strategies for overcoming those barriers.
Backing Young Britain
Backing Young Britain is a campaign to provide Britain's young people with opportunities to reach their full potential with the support of more than 450 organisations from across the UK.
They provide advice and information about how to offer and run apprenticeships for 16-24 year olds, internships for both graduates and non-graduates, work experience programmes and work trials, all of which will benefit you, the employer, and the young people you are taking on immensely. Backing Young Britain will help you to find eager young people from an often untapped pool of talent through Local Employment Partnerships. If you’re not looking to take anybody on, why not get involved in the mentoring programme and inspire young people to succeed.
The £1 billion Future Jobs Fund is your organisation’s opportunity to create innovative, rewarding jobs primarily for 18-24 year olds and others who face significant barriers in the labour market. The Jobcentre Plus is also offering £1000 for every eligible 18-24 year old you recruit in the Routes to Work programme.
Brightside
Brightside is an education charity using online technology to connect, inform and inspire people to achieve their potential through education.
Brightside create, develop and manage ementoring schemes connecting individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds with an online mentor who can help them develop skills, gain confidence and explore their education and employment options.
Brightside also provide free online resources –
- Bright Knowledge – the essential guide to careers, education and student life
- Student Calculator – an interactive budgeting tool helping students prepare to manage their money at university
Citizenship Foundation
The Citizenship Foundation is an independent educational charity which encourages individuals to play an effective role in democratic society.
The Citizenship Foundation is committed to ensuring that their resources and programmes can be accessed by young people experiencing, or at risk of, exclusion in those communities that are most commonly excluded from participation and engagement, both locally and nationally.
They seek to enable young people, others in the voluntary and community sector, and frontline professionals who work with children and young people to contribute their voice to current debates about Citizenship.
Within their primary beneficiary group of children and young people, they also focus on specific groups, for example pupils excluded from mainstream schools, young asylum seekers and refugees, and those likely to be offered fewer opportunities for participation.
Contact by email at info@citizenshipfoundation.org.uk or by phone on +44 (0)20 7566 4141.
IntoUniversity
IntoUniversity is a centre-based service offered free of charge at specialist facilities located in London.
The vision of IntoUniversity is to provide a national network of high quality, local learning centres where young people are inspired to achieve. Each local centre IntoUniversity will offer an innovative programme that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to attain either a university place or another chosen aspiration.
IntoUniversity works with children and young people with talent and potential who are at risk of underachieving and are seeking, with our help, to improve their life chances. The majority are from ethnic minority backgrounds and other social groups currently underrepresented in higher education.
Internships available for the summer and also at graduate level.
For further information please contact Gemma Fagbadegun with any general enquiries on 020 7243 0242 or via email at gemma@IntoUniversity.org.
Investors in Families
Investors in Families is a new accreditation scheme for school and other settings working with children and families and has been established to recognise and promote the importance of family-friendly approaches, which many schools have already developed.
IiF has established the national standard and works with local authorities to deliver the scheme to local schools and other settings. IiF is building a comprehensive database of good practice to enable participating schools, locally and nationally, to share ideas for working with families. IiF is now being rolled out in unitary and county authorities across England. IiF aims to value and support the role that families play in the life of the child, support families in developing their children's achievement and self-esteem, help families participate in raising their children's achievement and self-esteem and promote social inclusion and a sense of well-being through positive participation in family life.
Contact details
JMC House
10 Honor Road
Prestwood
Great Missenden
Buckinghamshire
HP16 0NJ
T: 01494 890801
E: info@investorsinfamilies.org.uk
National Council for Work Experience (NCWE)
The National Council for Work Experience promotes, supports and develops quality work experience for the benefit of students, organisations and the economy.
Recent research undertaken by NCWE shows that increasingly employers see offering work experience as an effective way of recruiting graduates, since both have a chance to see what each other have to offer. This trend is likely to continue and demonstrates the growing importance of getting some form of work experience before leaving university. Students also benefit by gaining an understanding of what employers are looking for when they come to recruit graduates and can therefore make more informed career choices.
The importance of undertaking a period of work experience, if you are a student, or providing work placement opportunities, if you are an employer, is growing year-on-year.
Employers want to recruit graduates who have some knowledge of the working world and this is something that students are becoming more aware of. A period of work experience can benefit both students and employers offering students the opportunity to put theory learning into practice and employers the opportunity to see what graduates are capable of.
The Quality Mark is an accreditation awarded by the National Council for Work Experience (NCWE) to recognise employers who have reached the required standard of work experience provision.
Contact:
Heather Collier Director 0161 277 5267
Anna Tayler Executive Assistant 0161 277 5273
Rachel Wood-Harper Quality Adviser 0161 277 5215
Query form available.
UK Career Academy Foundation
Career Academies UK leads and supports a movement of over 700 employers and over 120 schools and colleges, working together to raise the aspirations of 16 to 19-year-olds. 95% of Career Academy graduates go on to higher education, or an equivalent level of work-related training, compared with a predicted 40% based on their GCSE performance at the start of the programme.
Career Academy students follow a rigorous two-year curriculum equivalent to at least three A levels. It can include vocational qualifications such as BTEC or Applied A levels, as well as the Advanced Diploma, or a combination of these, depending on local need. Importantly, these all feature in the National Qualifications Framework and so are recognised for entrance to university or employment.
The whole Career Academy class follows the same programme of study with its various curriculum enhancements, such as visiting speakers or “Guru Lectures”, mentoring by employee volunteers, employer-led seminars and the “jewel in the crown” six-week paid internship which takes place in the summer between the two years of the course based on a standard working hour week in a real operating environment and aiming to use the skills and knowledge the student has learned in school/college.
Email: info@careeracademies.org.uk
Tel: 020 7986 5494.
Young Foundation
The Young Foundation’s Launchpad develops promising ideas into new social ventures - and supports social entrepreneurs who approach us with promising ideas - by providing early stage funding, social capital and entrepreneurial expertise. Ideas are selected for their potential to achieve high social impact through a new innovative, scalable and sustainable venture. This might be as a business, social enterprise, non-profit or public institution. The Young Foundation also works closely with policy makers, the public and private sector to build markets and form partnerships for ventures.
Projects include:
- “Healthy Incentives”, part of the Health Launchpad, where the aim is to develop and administer a reward scheme to encourage and support people to lead healthy lives.
- “Faking It”, part of the Learning Launchpad and based on the television programme of the same name, allows young people to ‘fake it' in an unknown job with unfamiliar surroundings allowing them to quickly learn skills and adopt appropriate personas, gain a real-world learning experience and open their eyes to different career opportunities.
Internships: Interns work alongside our small and dedicated team of staff at our Victoria Park Square offices located in Bethnal Green. We introduce interns to all aspects of our work and ensure that the input they make during their time with us forms a relevant and valuable contribution to our ongoing projects. Vacancies are available too.
Headstart
Headstart is an education programme whose aim is to encourage students interested in mathematics or science to consider technology-based careers. It provides an opportunity for those in Year 12/S5 to spend up to a week at university prior to making their UCAS application.
