Broadgate businesses welcomed students on an exciting work experience programme that is raising awareness of careers in their sectors and boosting social mobility. This is the latest example of how Broadgate’s dedicated Social Impact Manager, Sabina Mistura, is making it easier for our campus customers to deliver a real social impact on their doorstep. Here, Sabina reflects on the experience and looks forward to future opportunities. 

Last year, Tower Hamlets Council introduced us to the Social Mobility Business Partnership. The charity supports students from low-income backgrounds into careers in business, and our partnership with them is making significant progress. 11 Broadgate employers have now taken part, and we’ve run two full programmes on campus, giving 60 students insights into different sectors across an intense five days, known as WISE week (Work Insight and Skills Experience). 

Listening to our customers, the value of WISE week to them is clear, including raising awareness of careers in their sector, nurturing their future local talent pipeline and having a massive positive impact on their doorstep – all without significant financial investment. It’s such an efficient way to open up volunteering opportunities that colleagues find rewarding; I can see how much joy they have being part of the programme. 

With businesses in such a variety of sectors on our campus, we’re in a unique position to curate programmes that support both our customers’ sustainability goals and reflect students’ interests. Our latest WISE week had a big focus on sustainability and green skills1, which we recognise as a key area for huge opportunities for the next generation. Here’s a flavour of activities from the week: 

• British Land led a green skills workshop that proved so popular that we’re now developing it for wider use across our portfolio. 

• SMBC Bank International tasked students to analyse companies through a sustainability lens and then decide who to give a green loan to.  

• LBBW bank challenged students to design products, fulfilling client briefs 

• Peel Hunt’s HR team hosted a Q&A on recruitment and their investment bankers taught students how to analyse stock, commending them for making great investments. 

• Janus Henderson Investors shared career paths in sustainability and finance, as well as exploring personal brands and decoding payslips. 

• Recorra took everyone on a recycling journey, highlighting different job opportunities. 

• Q&S Landscaping led a nature walk of Broadgate, including the 1.5-acre park we’ve created in Exchange Square. 

Watching young people develop within one week is a privilege and a reason to be optimistic. 100% of participating students said they now have a better or firm idea of what they want to do for a career, and nearly 90% rated the programme ‘very good’. The Social Mobility Business Partners also reported improvements in students’ communication​ skills, creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, resilience and goal planning.  

It's amazing to see people making connections through the project. Sharing your career path and life choices can be quite personal, so people really open up. For some students, these are their first-ever conversations with professionals about having a job, opening their eyes to new opportunities.  

Work experience can make a real difference to young lives. Sadly, only 40% of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds get any exposure to the world of work, compared to nearly half of all young people.ⁱ Broadgate businesses are helping to change that. Through WISE week, we’re showing local students that Broadgate is a place for them; whatever they’re looking for, they could find their future careers here. A personal highlight for me was when a student said they thought that my job was really cool. It feels good to have inspired a teenager!  

Looking forward, we’re already in discussions about future programmes and mentoring. We’re also exploring opportunities on other British Land campuses. We have a strong track record of piloting and growing successful partnerships, and look forward to continuing to drive positive social impact.  

In the words of Broadgate businesses 

“Volunteering for Broadgate’s work experience day was a great and rewarding experience. It also reminded me that many students are incredibly capable, they may just need the encouragement to showcase their abilities.” Eni Abiodun, Senior Compliance Analyst at Janus Henderson Investors 

“Watching young people’s mindsets shift and seeing their excitement build as they discover different careers, that’s what this is all about. It really does change lives sometimes. Having a dedicated Social Impact Manager at Broadgate is a win-win-win – benefits to young individuals, to the businesses involved and to the community as a whole, by creating an inclusive place where people of all ages, backgrounds and skillsets can thrive.” Matt Penrose, Head of Sustainability at Recorra 

“The experience deepened my belief in mentorship and its role in shaping the future workforce, as well as the importance of promoting social mobility and making opportunities accessible to future talent.” Celina Novak, Senior Talent Development Partner at Janus Henderson Investors 

ⁱ KPMG UK research 2023