PwC are my new social mobility heroes while, across the water, Athlone students get suited and booted

I was so pleased when I read that PwC had made the decision not to use UCAS points as a barrier to entry on to their graduate programmes. I hope this is the first crack in the wall and other firms follow suit pronto.

Gaynor Begley, a board member at PwC, said: “Removing the UCAS criteria will create a fairer and more modern system in which students are selected on their own merit, irrespective of their background.”

And Stephen Isherwood, CEO of AGR, said: “Using a candidate’s UCAS points to assess their potential was a blunt tool and a barrier to social mobility.”

PwC’s decision confirms what the world has known for decades: kids from better schools (including and especially those in the independent sector) are more likely to achieve a better UCAS tariff than kids who have not enjoyed similar educational (and social) advantages. Fair play to them though for taking the lead. With so many employers talking the talk on social mobility, it’s fantastic when one of the biggest starts walking the walk.

One of the problems being a white, middle-class, university-educated bloke is the false memory you have that everyone had the same chances as you when shinning up life’s greasy pole. Successful people became successful because of effort, will and talent. Looking back, it’s clear that this view is both hopelessly naïve and, even worse, it cements the status quo.

And it’s not just academic ability that is being honed in better schools and in more privileged social backgrounds. It’s also fair to say that the product of these schools, speaking generally of course, have a sheen and a confidence naturally acquired through childhood and education. When it comes to the crunch – job interviews and assessment centres – they may not be the best candidates but they look as though they may well be.

I had the great pleasure of meeting the boss of the Careers Office at Athlone Institute of Technology, Denise Dolan, at last week’s fabulous gradireland Graduate Recruitment Awards in Dublin. She told me of feedback from recruiters that Athlone undergraduates were not performing brilliantly at interview, not doing themselves justice and not coming across confidently. They had the ability, but needed to present themselves better.

The Careers Service, as you would expect, runs regular workshops on interviews and selection centres, so they can address the underlying performance issues. But what these workshops can’t do is to create the polish that comes from an innate social confidence developed by a student’s upbringing.

So they launched a ‘Dress for Success’ initiative to help students present themselves in a manner that better reflected their own ability. The centrepiece was a fashion show, organised in conjunction with NEXT and Brummel Menswear, which featured eight student models showcasing a variety of styles appropriate to an interview situation. Final-year students and recent graduates were given information and tips on make-up and fashion. Ireland’s male fashion supremo and Kerry footballer Paul Galvin took part in the fashion show and mingled with students to chat about style and fashion. Paul Galvin may not be well known over here but he’s David Beckham over there. Dead famous and looks great in underwear (they tell me).

In addition, Brummel and NEXT sponsored a number of interview suits for hire at the Careers Office. Students with job interviews call in, borrow a suit and leave feeling (and looking) a million euro.

Final year sports science student Kelly Boyce Jordan attributes her successes in securing her job to this initiative. She said: “I really thought I could turn up in a track suit because I was going to a sports-related interview but thankfully after a meeting with Denise, she convinced me to dress smartly. I felt professional the minute I got dressed and groomed. I will be starting my new position in June thanks to the help from the Careers Office.”

Gary Johnson, a recent graduate, said: “I have just started work at Ericsson as a software engineer. I attended ‘Dress for Success’ and met Ericsson at the event and they invited me for interview two weeks later. I borrowed a suit from the Careers Office as I didn’t own one myself and groomed myself according to the experts. I know it’s thanks to them I am now in full time employment.”

I really don’t know how I feel about the need to polish your exterior in this way, as I believe that graduate selection should be more about identifying the talent within, regardless of appearance. But I have been won over (after a few Guinnesses) by a very simple argument.

If students are at a disadvantage because no-one in their family or peer group has taught them the rules of selection; if they don’t know how to present themselves or don’t own a suit, then it’s OK to level that old playing field in this way. In fact, it’s more than OK. Just like PwC’s landmark decision, it’s another step towards open and fair recruitment and that’s something to raise a glass to. Mine’s a Guinness, I may have said….