Serco congratulated by UK Deputy Prime Minister on providing opportunities for young people

Serco has been congratulated by Nick Clegg, the UK's Deputy Prime Minister, for opening their doors to young people from all walks of life by providing opportunities including apprenticeships and work experience placements.

Serco has today joined a number of other leading companies in signing the UK Government's Social Mobility Business Compact. The Compact promotes fairer opportunities for young people and is a commitment to support communities, schools and colleges with mentoring schemes and employee visits to raise aspirations; ensuring opportunities are open for all young people by advertising work experience placements publicly and to recruit our workforce openly and fairly.

Within our business we have a focus on skills, employability and investing in local communities. For example: in 2011 we committed to providing 1000 two to eight week work experience placements and 500 apprenticeships, as well as places for young people who have participated in the National Citizen Service; our local government business developed a programme to challenge young people to find solutions to real business problems, giving them the opportunity to experience the world of work; and our contracts including Serco's Merseyrail contract have set up a partnerships with local schools and colleges , as part mentoring programmes.

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg says: ""This is an important step towards a society where it's what you know, not who you know, that counts. Working with the Coalition, the biggest hitters in Britain's business world are helping lead the way to a fairer, more open society.

"By opening their doors to young people from all walks of life, this marks the start of a culture shift at the heart of British business, driven by the belief that ability and drive should trump connections and privilege.

"I'd like to thank Serco for signing up to the Business Compact. Today's success makes me even more ambitious. This great news is just the beginning - I will be doing everything I can to bring even more businesses on board."

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