Young people’s priorities when it comes to their future employers were top of the agenda for Wirral businesses, on a recent visit to the The Hive Youth Zone.
A panel of experts on environmental, social and governance leadership was joined by young apprentice and Hive member Ian, who spoke to an invited audience about key things the next generation expects from a business they’re going to work for.
The special networking event for our Hive 100 group – a collective of local organisations which are passionate about the work of the youth zone – comes in the wake of research showing that one in five young people (20%) have turned down a job offer when the company’s ESG commitments weren’t in line with their values.
Ian told the audience: “It’s amazing, this place …It affects so many different young people in different ways. Hopefully if I do go for a job somewhere local, they’ll be doing something good in the community – helping to put a smile on kids’ faces.”
More than 40 organisations from across the Liverpool city region attended the event on Thursday 29th February, at which the panel of invited guests – chaired by Clare Beavan from DWF Foundation – were quizzed on topics including BCorp status and emerging ESG strategy, and reflected on how expectations of younger people entering the workforce are shifting.
Our CEO, Jayne Wilson, said: “So many of the jobs that these young people will go on to do don’t even exist yet. But what we do know is that the young people moving into those jobs will be led by their social values.”
Julie Crowe, Social Value Partnerships Manager from Deloitte UK said: “We’re very aware of the diversity of the future workforce. If you look on social media, it’s less about profit and more about people, shifting the focus from: ‘Great organisation, great salaries’ to ‘What else do you do?’ I’ve sat in interviews where we’re being asked: ‘What does Deloitte do for the world?’ ”
Simon Lewis, Corporate Partner at Brabners LLP added: “The ROI on our ESG work has been massive – there’s such a strong business case for doing the right thing: the colleague engagement that you get, the awareness, that feeling of being part of something. So from a talent attraction and retention point of view, it’s invaluable.”
The event was the first business networking event of the year for our Hive 100 group. For more information on 2024 events or to join the network, click here.
