Are London-Centric graduate jobs killing Social Mobility?

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An unusual pastime I had growing up was exploring the National Careers Service website, filtering by industrial sectors and educating myself on average salaries, work weeks, and what it takes to reach every position. One day I'd decide to become a forensic psychologist, the next a marine biologist, or actuary. At the time the predominant route to these roles was clear: university, internship, and the ever-so-desired graduate job.

What wasn't clear from my council house in Newcastle’s West End was how much national geography would determine opportunity. As a child of immigrants, the rhetoric of achieving a "better life" than my parents was common – social mobility being the unspoken goal. But I was painfully unaware of the realities of the North-South divide; after all, I perceived no reality beyond my home in Benwell.

Accepting my AccessUCL offer and attending careers fairs made it bitterly transparent how London has become the core site for social mobility through corporate industries. While it was a privilege to enter this environment with new academic possibilities, I question the state of mobility for those left behind, as many of my peers from Sixth Form are still waiting and seeking apprenticeships.

London's job market reflects a concentration of high-skilled jobs uncommon in other UK regions. For the Social Mobility Commission, London is an accessible site, but also urges the message that "local jobs must be part of our mobility picture." The vast disparities between educational attainment and unemployment rates across populations within metropolitan cities are consistent across the country. In London, this trend presents diminished upward mobility, with only 17% of London's professional jobs occupied by people from lower-income households. 

Corporates recognise London’s gravitational pull in this equation; take PwC and HSBC’s social mobility programmes. The rise of a host of London-based mobility charities accomplishes similar work, though reinforcing the capital’s dominance for upward opportunity. This prioritises individuals capable of relocating to London – able to afford its ridiculous rental prices and cost of living – while simultaneously diminishing national chances for other graduates to utilise their education in skilled roles. The city becomes both the site of opportunity and the barrier to it. 

Graduate and internship opportunities in sectors like law, media, finance, and politics are disproportionately centred in London and the South. This shouldn’t be a surprise to any London uni student, as you’ll find plenty within your degree with aspirations for investment banking or management consulting. In the Student Centre, you might even spot someone attempting the dreadful McKinsey game. Beyond corporates, you can find diverse sector presences in London, or within an hour's train journey to somewhere else within the region. However, securing employment is not simply a matter of educational attainment; it's social capital – knowing how to network, find the right schemes, and understand what is a good company to work for.

Even successfully entering a corporate space comes with an omnipresent feeling of doubt. I was surrounded by alumni from British boarding schools as I stepped into a corporate law firm. Their aunts, lawyers, fathers, consultants, and old schools with a pragmatic guide to approaching this environment. Yet, I found myself morphing into a ‘desirable employable candidate’ by learning the unspoken rules of posting on LinkedIn, mastering commercial awareness (and knowing what it was in the first place), and embracing mannerisms just enough to blend in. 

I’m not dismissing the value of education or the power of ambition. But social mobility shouldn't require migration to the capital, burdening yourself with economic difficulty and no safety net, or assimilation into a narrow professional mould. It should mean having access to opportunities that reward graduates, regardless of socioeconomic position and geography. 

London may not have a monopoly on all graduate jobs – but it has the opportunities that are most desirable to graduates, with a high regional starting salary across multitudes of sectors. Thus, the question remains: are we creating a system where only those who can afford to live in London can afford social mobility? If so, it's not mobility at all – it's just another form of privilege.