Member Article

Top professions "closed off"

Top professions such as medicine and law are increasingly being closed off to all but the most affluent families, according to a study released this week.

Former minister Alan Milburn says young people in England should have access to much better careers advice to boost their ambitions.

Mr Milburn told the BBC: “We have raised the glass ceiling but I don’t think we have broken through it yet.”

He said the professions had a “closed shop mentality” and “have become more and not less exclusive over time”.

Mr Milburn spoke on the BBC’s Breakfast programme, calling for “a second great wave of social mobility” like that of the 1950s and 1960s.

He said: “What we have got to do is open up these opportunities so they are available for everybody.”

When asked about Mr Milburn’s comments, Jamie Martin, Managing Partner at North law firm Ward Hadaway, welcomed the thoughts outlined in the study but also struck a note of caution.

“The thoughts of the study would and should be shared by business leaders across the region,” he said. “Certainly in my experience the landscape with regards to social mobility and the legal sector has changed considerably during the past 10-15 years - which has been to the betterment of the profession and the economy as a whole.

“Ward Hadaway has always believed in offering as many opportunities as possible to schoolchildren and students. We run an extensive work experience programme and in the last 12 months over 50 schoolchildren have been given the opportunity to sample the workings of a law firm. In addition, our student placement programme has given 20 students the chance to enjoy the legal sector across the same timeframe.

“We feel that schemes such as these play a vital role in making law a viable option for students from all social backgrounds.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .