Stories Matter: Commission marks Social Mobility Day 2026

To celebrate Social Mobility Day on the 11th June, the Social Mobility Commission hosted a ‘lunch and learn’ to raise awareness of the importance of social mobility. 

For 2026 the theme is ‘Stories Matter’. Not only can hearing stories help individuals see relatable mentors, their stories and experiences are a source of vital evidence for policy-makers, local leaders, employers’ and charities that seek to help improve social mobility in the UK. 

Deputy Chair of the Commission, Resham Kotecha, hosted an online event which welcomed guests Anastacia and Dan to share their personal experiences of social mobility. 

Anastacia: “…if you had told me when I was age 15 what kind of life I’d be living now, I would never have believed you… I look at everything I’m doing, my career, where I live, my family, and my entire life has been completely transformed.”

Anastacia is a Capability Portfolio Bid Project Manager at BAE Systems where she has been working for over a decade. She grew up on a council estate in County Durham, a lot of the people in her life were not working and so Anastacia was not sure what she wanted to do or what career path might be possible. At school, Anastacia was described as bright by her teachers, but she shared she had a lot going on in her personal life during her school years and ‘wasn’t really interested in studying’. At 15 she had a baby, just two days after her final GCSE exam. While starting sixth form and wanting to continue, she found balancing it with childcare was impossible and so she left halfway through.

After various courses and applications, Anastacia secured a job in a call centre, but when her father passed away she struggled with her mental health and sought a fresh start in Blackpool. She arrived unemployed and low in confidence, but then she was put in touch with a programme that helped support young people gain employment. She was set up with a work placement and went on to secure a subcontractor role as a quality engineer at BAE Systems. 

BAE Systems then had a business management apprenticeship opening. While never previously considering an apprenticeship, the confidence and knowledge she had built through work experience made Anastacia believe opportunities like this were possible for her. She didn’t have the maths requirement for the programme, but rather than rejecting Anastacia, the business saw her potential and supported her in gaining a maths Level 2 functional skills qualification. Anastacia completed the Association of Project Management Qualification and is currently working towards a degree in project management and chartered status. 

Dan: “The careers advice system is broken. Young people are coming out of mainstream education with good results and then sitting on park benches not knowing what to do because they haven’t been shown what a real career path looks like. We help them get their first job and that’s their ticket to a career.”

Dan is Managing Director at Engineered Learning in Derby. He grew up on an estate and after school began working on railways before moving into youth work. Dan recognised the UK had a national shortage of skilled welders, critical to the country’s most important infrastructure, but nobody was teaching pre-16 engineering at any level. This spurred Dan on to set up welding training for young people. Young people, often with behaviour, academic issues or social barriers, are referred to the training via Derby City’s Connexions service. 

Dan sees the positive impact on the young people getting an ‘instant reward’ from the work they are doing at the end of each day, while building longer term rewards through skill development, confidence and valuable on-the-job experience. Beyond the employability benefits, the training time allows trainers, like Dan, to become mentors to the young people, building a relationship to allow a space for them to open up beyond ‘work life’ struggles with no judgement. 

Young people who may have felt ‘rejected’ by the education system or ‘traditional’ measures of success can then gain accreditations in fabrication and welding and experience being part of big projects like public sculptures and infrastructure in their home town. Dan shared: “Our young people aren’t just learning skills, they’re investing in their communities.”

Alun Francis, Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, said: 

“At the Social Mobility Commission, everything we do is driven by increasing awareness, improving understanding and seeking solutions to the UK’s biggest obstacles to social mobility – but Social Mobility Day is an opportunity for everyone to do this. 

“Whether you’re a business owner hiring more apprentices, a teacher encouraging different career paths or an experienced worker giving some time to mentor and offer career advice – everyone can have a role to play in changing the life path of a young person. 

“In line with this year’s theme ‘stories matter’ we wanted to amplify the voices of real people with real stories and the real difference being given an opportunity can make.”

The event was an open space for attendees to share their own social mobility stories, ask questions or simply listen along.