Sorrell lends support to new employability campaign
Sir Martin Sorrell has backed an employability scheme intended to boost job prospects for Brits as the country emerges from 2020’s raft of redundancies.
The #LegUp campaign, the brainchild of employability expert Ronel Lehmann and campaigning MP Rob Halfon, encourages business leaders to engineer just one extra job in the economy – either at their own firms, or by brokering introductions with others.
Lehmann and Halfon are looking for volunteer mentors to offer support, advice and guidance to those currently out of the workforce.
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Welcoming the campaign, advertising supremo Sir Martin said: “My advice to young people is to be persistent and energetic and go where the growth is.”
Lehmann told City A.M.: “It doesn’t matter whether you’re a CEO or someone lower down in your organisation, there’s always a way to do your bit.
“It could be an introduction, a Zoom, or a just a supportive conversation – it all makes a difference when you’re out of a job and wondering how you’ll ever find your way back to the dignity of a salary, and the greater sense of purpose that comes with work.”
Redundancies have reached a record quarterly high, according to recent Office of National Statistics figures, with the Covid-19 pandemic ravaging industries across the country.
The campaign hopes to build a network of support from CEOs and other senior business figures that will allow some of those who have lost work this year to find their way back into the security of long-standing employment.
Halfon, who chairs the Commons’ Education Select Committee and is the Tory MP for Harlow, said: “We’re not saying people need to give up an enormous amount of time, not a year, maybe just a week. It’s clear that have a mentor makes an enormous difference.”