Tata Global Beverages was congratulated by Nick Clegg, the UK deputy prime minister, today, for its role as a founding signatory to the Business Compact, his flagship scheme to create fairer access to the best jobs.

Speaking about the decision to sign up to the Business Compact, Percy Siganporia, deputy CEO, Tata Global Beverages, commented: “It is a pleasure for Tata Global Beverages to sign up to the social mobility Business Compact, but, more importantly, it is quite simply the right thing to do. We feel very strongly about social mobility and are passionate about fair opportunities for everyone. We are committed to building a business and a culture that demonstrate equality, honesty, and respect, in order to create a better future for people and the planet.”

In addition to being an equal opportunities employer, Tata Global Beverages’ social mobility activity currently focuses on literacy at the school closest to its Greenford office in West London. Since 2003, Tata Global Beverages employees have been helping the children at Oldfield Primary School with their reading. Many of the children struggle with learning to read and do not have English as their first language or speak it at home, so have no one to encourage or listen to them read. Volunteers attend reading sessions at the school three times a week during lunch hour, and since the inception of the programme, well over 100 pupils have been helped with their reading skills.

Speaking about the impact of the reading scheme, Liz Day, head teacher at Oldfield Primary, said: “It is a simple yet highly effective partnership with volunteers from Tata Global Beverages. It has had a profound impact on the standards of children’s reading, in a school where over 90 per cent of the children are from ethnic minorities.”

Mr Clegg, when talking about the launch of the Business Compact, concluded: “This is an important step towards a society where it’s what you know, not who you know, that counts. Working with the coalition, the biggest hitters in Britain’s business world are helping to lead the way to a fairer, more open society.
 
“By opening their doors to young people from all walks of life, this marks the start of a culture shift at the heart of British business, driven by the belief that ability and drive should trump connections and privilege.

“I’d like to thank Tata Global Beverages for signing up to the Business Compact. Today’s success makes me even more ambitious. This great news is just the beginning — I will be doing everything I can to bring even more businesses on board.”

More than 100 of Britain’s biggest companies and top professional groups have signed the Business Compact, committing them to making entry into their professions fairer.

The Business Compact forms a key part of the deputy prime minister’s Social Mobility Strategy, launched in April 2011, which sets out the government’s determination to ensure that every individual is free to achieve, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Businesses which sign up to it must agree to:

• Support communities and schools through reading and mentoring schemes or encouraging their staff to go out to schools and inspire pupils about their careers.
• Open opportunities to all young people by advertising their work experience places through schools, online and in other public forums, rather than just giving places to their mates.
• Make access to internships open and transparent, paying interns the National Minimum Wage where they are legally entitled to it and providing financial support to ensure fair access, such as providing expenses and / or accommodation to those from less advantaged backgrounds to ensure they are not prevented from accessing opportunities by their financial circumstances.
• Recruit fairly and without discrimination, ensuring that their recruitment processes don’t allow candidates to be inadvertently screened out because they went to the wrong school or come from a different ethnic group (including through using name-blank and school-blank applications where appropriate).