upReach Annual Report 2023-24 - Report - Page 4
Introductions
Joint Introduction from Our CEO and Chair
At upReach, the past year has been a
testament to our unwavering commitment
to transforming social mobility in the UK.
Despite economic challenges and persistent
inequalities, we have continued to achieve
signi昀椀cant milestones in supporting students
from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Indeed, we proudly hold a Queen’s Award for
Enterprise as just one example of our strong
track record for quality and impact.
Our Impact
In 2023/24, we provided personalised career
support to 3,034 Associates across various year
groups, universities, and degree backgrounds.
Through over 4,500 one-to-one calls and a
broad range of career interventions – including
employer Insight Days, CV Reviews, Skillsbuilding Sessions, and Mock Interviews – we
have helped our Associates secure 1,852
interim and 650 graduate role offers this
programme year, with an impressive 53% of our
昀椀nal year Associates having achieved a graduate
role so far.
We have made good progress this past year on
securing funding and partnerships to launch
impressive new programmes for our Associates
in the 昀椀elds of Energy & Net Zero. Similarly, our
employer partnerships have grown across various
sectors, allowing us to provide insight across a
range of professional careers for our Associates.
We continue to diversify our income streams, and
end the year in a healthy 昀椀nancial position.
Central to this success is the calibre of our
team, whose passion and professionalism
underpin everything we do. Their personal
connections with our Associates are invaluable,
helping students to secure highly competitive
graduate roles. It’s always a joy for us to hear
directly from our Associates and Alumni –
not least our three Alumni Trustees on the
Board – about how much they value upReach’s
support and how they consistently credit their
4
Programme Coordinators for turbocharging their
career trajectories.
Our expansion beyond London, with thriving
of昀椀ces in Manchester, Bristol, Newcastle and
Nottingham, demonstrates our commitment
to nationwide impact. These of昀椀ces now
collectively employ more staff than our London
hub, deepening our focus on delivering services
where they are needed most. Now, 56% of
our Associates’ home postcodes are outside of
London and 71% are studying at universities
outside of the capital.
Double Bene昀椀t Approach
With the backdrop of a new government, which
presents fresh opportunities for our advocacy
and policy work, upReach continues to pursue
a ‘double bene昀椀t approach’ to boosting social
mobility in the UK. This means we seek to
positively in昀氀uence employer behaviour and
wider society whilst also helping individual
Associates to ful昀椀l their career potential.
