‘Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not’

Please note that this article was published prior to the new brand name of PREACH Inclusion® on 25 April 2024, so you will notice references to BAME in Property.

This month, we’re pleased to share some of the early career’s outreach work our Corporate Partner, Turley has been doing to help create a more equitable and diverse workforce. Working directly with the 10,000 Interns Foundation, co-owners Tom Ellis, Senior Planner, Economics and Charlotte Palmer, Senior Planner, Planning Midlands, and Mariel Ngemoh, who did a placement with the Economics team in Manchester, have shared some reflections on their experiences of the ‘10,000 Interns’ programme.

“Programmes such as 10,000 Interns Foundation help promote the equity of opportunity, the programme’s website highlights “Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not” which is a quote that sticks when I think about how beneficial it is for Turley to participate in such programmes." - Charlotte Palmer, Senior Planner

Turley appreciates the benefits of even more diverse decision making, and the value of different perspectives and thoughts. We’re committed to widening diversity across the company to be more reflective of the communities that we serve.

We recognise that more can be done to provide meaningful and valuable workplace experiences to help build a more diverse future talent pipeline. As well as directly working with universities we support a number of charities (10,000 Interns Foundation, Career Ready and Mayor’s Fund for London Firm Foundations) that seek to support talented people from under-represented communities access workplace experiences.

“Being able to talk to people in Turley’s different services was really beneficial and helped in figuring out what part of the planning sector I would like to go into in the future.” - Mariel, Intern

The built environment sector needs to see much greater progress to becoming more inclusive and diverse. While ethnic diversity within Real Estate is generally in line with the national average, it’s still lower than average in London (47% BAME and 65% BAME and Other White combined) (Source: ONS Census data 2021) Worryingly in EG’s Race Survey 2021 84% of ethnic minority workers felt that racism was an issue in the real estate sector, and close to 75% had experienced racism themselves. Aside from a focus on IED (inclusion, equity and diversity) being the morally right thing to do, there are also business benefits. The McGregor-Smith Review (2017) reported if BME talent is fully utilised, the economy could receive a £24 billion boost.

“In partnership with BAME in Property our co-owners have contributed to panel events and shared their career journeys to raise awareness on the importance of working to increase ethnic diversity within the built environment industry.”

As a corporate partner we’ve been working with BAME in Property to develop an even more inclusive culture. BAME in Property’s founder Priya Aggarwal-Shah has delivered IED workshops across the business to break down barriers about talking about race and ethnicity issues in the workplace and how co-owners can embrace allyship. In partnership with BAME in Property our co-owners have contributed to panel events and shared their career journeys to raise awareness on the importance of working to increase ethnic diversity within the built environment industry.

Turley is seeking to level the playing field for Black students and graduates through our support of 10,000 Interns Foundation who run innovative programmes that promote equity of opportunity and offer access to paid internships across a wide range of industries. This year we have hosted three paid six week placements in our Economics, Design and Midlands Planning teams. In 2021 70% of candidates who participated in the programme felt they would not have received an internship offer without the programme.

Co-owners Tom Ellis, Senior Planner, Economics and Charlotte Palmer, Senior Planner, Planning Midlands, and Mariel Ngemoh, who did a placement with the Economics team in Manchester, have shared some reflections on their experiences of the programme.

Why workplace opportunities through programmes such as 10,000 Interns Foundation are important

“I hope that programmes such as this go towards helping people like Mariel who are soon going to be completing their studies to gain some practical experience and confidence in a supportive workplace environment." - Tom

Charlotte: 10,000 Interns provides an alternative platform at showcasing our industry. It provides another outlook to scout and consider talent from a wider pool and also provide those with an opportunity which may not have previously been an option.

Tom: It is important that the socio-economic, gender and ethnic make-up of the planning and development industry becomes more reflective of wider society, given that everyone’s day-to-day lives – where they live, how they travel, what services are available to them – is to some degree touched by the decisions and priorities of the industry. Diversity of experience is vital in order to appreciate the potential effects of a development on as broad a cross-section of local communities as possible and to ensure that plans respond to local priorities and meet local needs.

In addition to this, from a commercial perspective, study after study has linked diverse workplaces to increased levels of creativity and innovation and, ultimately, higher productivity through the introduction of new perspectives and ideas. And last but not least, I would also hope that programmes such as this go towards helping people like Mariel who are soon going to be completing their studies to gain some practical experience and confidence in a supportive workplace environment.

Opportunity to see things from a new perspective

“I was pleasantly surprised at how driven and motivated my mentee was." - Charlotte

Charlotte: I participated as a mentor within the programme and was pleasantly surprised at how driven and motivated my mentee was, particularly showcasing an interest and understanding of an industry that isn’t directly linked to their degree subject; it gave me an opportunity to help provide guidance to someone who was at the very start of their professional career and who also had limited role models within professional industry. It provided me with insight into what it is like to step into the working world today.

The interns make valuable contributions to the teams they support

Tom: Mariel proved an extremely useful addition to the team this summer, showing her adaptability by calmly turning her hand to contribute to a very wide range of (hopefully!) interesting projects, ranging from the health and wellbeing impacts of a new apartment block in central Milton Keynes, to the economic strategy of rural communities in Ireland. I know that everyone in the team was impressed with her quality of work, diligent approach and keenness to learn throughout her internship.

10,000 Interns Foundation is now accepting pledges for the 2023/24 cycle and are asking businesses to agree to host an internship before 20 October – you can make a pledge HERE.

“My advice to people applying to the programme would be to really go for sectors that align with your genuine interests! This is a really great opportunity to try out an area of work you may have brushed aside before" - Mariel (Intern)

Thanks to Turley for sharing their experience of supporting the 10,000 Interns Foundation and we hope this encourages other companies to consider them as an early careers outreach partner.