As the UK Government looks to level up the country, people around the nation are exploring the potential of social mobility. The team at Leadership Through Sport & Business know the field better than most. Under the capable leadership of Paul Evans, the charity has reached new and impressive heights. This success is why he has been named CEO of the Year, 2020 – the United Kingdom. We take a closer look to find out more.
A desire to improve one’s position is at the heart of social mobility. Based on the movement of an individual’s social status from one place to another, this allows people from disadvantaged backgrounds to move forward into a new and better life. Of course, creating a society where social mobility is possible is not easy. A wealth of institutional change must be made to bring it truly into place.
The team at Leadership Through Sport & Business are helping young people to make their first steps into a brave new world, however. Their hard work prepares and supports bright young people to find meaningful roles with major firms. Many people from disadvantaged backgrounds struggle to find positions that are equal to their ambition, with several struggling to find jobs at all. Assistance from the team at Leadership Through Sport & Business is pitched perfectly to provide people with the skills they need to get into these positions and contribute from their first days on the job.
The guiding light of Leadership Through Sport & Business for the last year has been Paul Evans. Mr. Evans came to Leadership Through Sport & Business from his position as CEO of UFA, an education and youth charity, with a role as Managing Director of Street League before that. At Street League, Mr. Evans was responsible for the charity’s expansion to 14 locations across the UK.
When considering his ten-year term as chair of trustees at ISAS and his current role as trustee as the Nottinghamshire learning disability charity REACH, his passion and knowledge of the charity sector cannot be questioned. It can be of little surprise, therefore, that even during these unprecedented times, he has quickly made an impact on the way that Leadership Through Sport & Business operates.
When considering what Mr. Evans brings to the table at Leadership Through Sport & Business, it’s worth considering how well his passion for social mobility, inclusion and creating real, lasting change in society are already embedded in the large organisation. With his contacts from previous positions on hand, Mr. Evans and his team have been able to create new relationships and enhance existing ones that can benefit young people the length and breadth of the UK.
It’s little wonder, therefore, that Leadership Through Sport & Business has become such a well-known name within the charity sector. They work together with many different organisations, including Premier League football club foundations and education delivery partners. Close cooperation allows the team to provide young people with personal and professional development that makes them ready for the world of work. One of the key aspects of Leadership Through Sport & Business is the charity’s ability to place people with leading employers from across the UK.
When it comes to what specifically is available to young people, Leadership Through Sport & Business focuses on ways of deploying their programme of employability, education and employment. Each aspect feeds into the others, generating a cycle of social mobility within the community at large. For example, young people receive interview coaching, CV training, and workshops and events with leading companies and business professionals. They gain transferable skills through sports leadership coaching. In short, they are prepared to thrive in the modern workplace at the highest levels.
To support this business-based approach, the team also partner with top class education providers who provide expert tutoring and accredited qualifications. This puts young people in the right place to flourish as they take up high quality, career-focussed apprenticeship placements in major firms. Key to their success is the support that Leadership Through Sport & Business provides before and during these placements. This pastoral assistance is in place for the first twelve months and ensures satisfaction from all parties concerned.
Social mobility only works if it is available to all, which is why Leadership Through Sport & Business is designed to address all forms of disadvantage whether it is personal, socio-economic or practical. Employers know that a diverse workforce creates a better company. When more ideas are at play, a business can react more effectively to crises that arise. Leadership Through Sport & Business is the ideal venue to find the best and brightest young individuals, affording them a chance to take on entry-level positions and develop into the leading businesspeople of tomorrow. As such, the team has a long history of success with 90% of employers find that recruiting through Leadership Through Sport & Business is an effective way of finding diverse, capable young people for entry-level positions, and 83% of employers agree that apprentices have been a positive influence on the workplace.
In a world where there are so many potential barriers to employment, where young people can come from families with generations of unemployment behind them, social mobility is not a certainty. It’s something that must be nurtured by professionals, kindled until they become solid reality. We celebrate the success of Leadership Through Sport & Business and its astonishing CEO, Paul Evans – we can’t wait to see what they do next!
Contact Paul Evans at Leadership Through Sport & Business at www.leadershipthroughsport.org for more information.
