Poorer applicants to be given 'extra credits' during hiring process

Young working-class jobseekers are to be given extra considerations to help make it easier for them to get a job at high-profile companies.

A new scheme aims to boost social mobility by giving extra credits to graduates from poor backgrounds over more affluent applicants.

The scheme is aimed at professions which are dominated by privately educated graduates. Law and accountancy are two sectors where employers have signed up to the scheme.

Bosses who have signed up for the scheme refer to it as “contextual recruitment” and believe it could revolutionise the search for staff. However, education experts have warned against “social engineering.”