During the recent Urban Synergy Insight day with BlackRock, Prendergast Sixth Form students stepped into the London offices of BlackRock for an immersive corporate experience. The day provided young people with invaluable direct exposure to global financial services, leadership insights, and meaningful career guidance.
Breaking down barriers and tackling the 'Class Ceiling'
In the UK, early exposure to corporate environments is critical to tackling social mobility challenges and addressing the growing 'class ceiling' in competitive industries like finance. Young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds often face significant barriers to accessing professional networks and understanding non-traditional routes into high-profile careers.
Our Insight Day programme directly combats these disparities by bringing students into real corporate spaces, connecting them with relatable role models, and showing them that ambitious career pathways, including degree apprenticeships and internships are well within their reach.
A packed day of activity
The day was filled with engaging sessions designed to ignite ambition and build confidence. It kicked off with an inspiring keynote on "The Importance of Opportunity," setting the tone for the day ahead. The students then heard from current apprentices and early career professionals during interactive panel discussions focused on non-traditional career pathways, application strategies, and workplace culture.
The students were then put into smaller groups for a speed mentoring session. During the session the young people were given the opportunity to ask more direct questions and even received tailored career insights from BlackRock professionals across various departments in the company.
Student Feedback and Impact
The day made an immediate impression, with students giving the overall experience top marks. Remarkably, 100% of participants reported feeling more confident about their future career path and gained clarity on the key skills valued in today’s workplace. For 60% of the group feedback, the insight day opened up entire career paths they had never even considered before.
“I enjoyed when all the apprentices came around onto our table for a more insightful conversation, and for us to answer questions that we couldn’t answer when they were on the panel.” — Cybella, Prendergast Sixth Form
“Everyone had a lot of advice no matter the age…..it really helped with confidence and belonging in a corporate environment.” — Amania, Prendergast Sixth Form
“I enjoyed hearing from apprentices the most.” — Henry, Prendergast Sixth Form
Partner with US & support social mobility
At Urban Synergy, we are committed to building an equitable world by mentoring, guiding, and empowering the next generation. But we cannot do this work alone.
We invite forward-thinking corporate organisations to join us as partners in hosting Corporate Insight Days, offering work experience opportunities, and providing mentors.
Get involved today:
- Become a Corporate Partner: Help open doors for ambitious young people by partnering with Urban Synergy on upcoming insight days and mentoring initiatives. Contact our team to learn more.
- Make a Donation: Your generous support directly funds our cradle-to-career programmes. Support us via JustGiving or PayPal to make a lasting difference in a young person's life.
Read more about our impactful student stories on our Urban Synergy Testimonials page.
