Launching opportunity: how first jobs shape long-term success

​This panel event will launch new SMF research into the role of young people’s first job in shaping long-term progression and how early-career roles can support social mobility.

​As rates of youth unemployment remain stubbornly high, getting young people into work is a key priority for the Government. The nature of a young person's first job – the training, progression and exposure to opportunity that it may offer – matters, especially as an increasingly educated workforce means that qualifications alone may act as a weaker signaling tool to employers on the relative suitability of a candidate.

​The SMF’s upcoming report, kindly sponsored by PwC, explores how different employers and jobs contribute to young people’s overall career trajectory, and why some young people progress while others remain stuck in roles with little opportunity for development.

​The panel will be chaired by Dr Rebecca Montacute, Research Director at the Social Market Foundation. Speakers will include Dani Payne, Head of Education and Social Mobility at the Social Market Foundation, Sarah Atkinson, Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, Phillipa O’Connor, Chief People Officer, PwC UK, and Marco Amitrano, Senior Partner and Head of PwC UK, with more to be announced.

​The event will take place from 09:00 – 10:00 (with networking and refreshments from 08:30) on Tuesday 8 September at a Westminster venue. The exact location will be shared with registered attendees.

​Please email events@smf.co.uk with any questions.