News

Severn Trent has been named as one of the country’s top performing companies for improving social mobility. 

For the third year running, the water and waste company has claimed a place in the top 10 in the latest Social Mobility Employer Index, coming in 5th - up three places on last year.

The Index ranks Britain’s employers on the actions they’re taking to ensure they’re open to accessing and progressing talent from all backgrounds.

Companies are assessed on everything from the work they do on apprenticeships, through to their recruitment and selection processes, and how people from lower income backgrounds progress up the ladder within their organisations.

The Index praised Severn Trent for the work it’s doing with young people, removing barriers to work and creating a welcoming and inclusive culture. 

In the last year, around 34% of Severn Trent’s new hires came from areas identified as being social mobility cold spots, with 30% of all internal promotions achieved by staff living in these areas.

Neil Morrison, HR Director at Severn Trent, said: “I’m incredibly proud that we’ve been named as one of the top 10 performing companies for improving social mobility for the third year running. 

“This recognition is further proof that we take our role as a major employer in the region really seriously. With many social mobility cold spots across our patch, we’re very aware of the role we can play in helping people get onto the career ladder.”

Neil added: “We’re constantly creating more ways for people from all walks of life to come through our doors, whether that’s through our apprenticeship programme, intern programmes or the Government’s Kickstart scheme.”

Severn Trent launched a state-of-the-art training Academy on the outskirts of Coventry earlier this year for colleagues and its communities, as part of the company’s wider £10m investment into learning and development.

The company has also committed to provide 100,000 hours of free employability training for communities across the region.