One Year On, JPMorganChase Shares Progress on £40M Investment in the U.K. and Deploys £3.3M to Boost Career Opportunities Across the Country

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05/13/2025 - 03:30 AM

Delivering on its initial investment to support U.K. careers, the firm has expanded its in-house work experience initiatives and invested in national career readiness programmes

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As JPMorganChase continues to deliver on the £40 million commitment made in May 2024, which aims to help drive inclusive economic growth across the U.K., the firm is sharing progress and investing in new programmes to create career opportunities.

Research shows that the U.K. is one of the least socially mobile countries among developed nations.¹ With more than 22,000 employees in cities across the U.K. – from London to Bournemouth to Glasgow – the firm uses its unique expertise, insights and resources to help drive solutions to address this economic challenge and help grow communities, businesses and the economy. The firm’s latest efforts focus on two work experience commitments:

Boosting career readiness: As the U.K. Government aims to deliver two weeks worth of work experience for all young people, the firm is providing an additional £3.3 million to The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), the national body for careers education in England, to help connect over 3,700 young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to high quality work experience opportunities across the U.K.
Revamping work experience at JPMorganChase: Aligned with best practices defined by OECD research, the firm has refreshed its work experience programme and expanded into Edinburgh. This new approach will give young people living in underserved areas multiple opportunities to engage in work experience at the firm - providing them with insights into the finance and technology industry.

JPMorganChase announced its new philanthropic investment and upgraded work experience programme during a roundtable discussion in Parliament. The roundtable focused on removing barriers to career opportunities, bringing together the Rt Hon. the Baroness Morgan of Cotes, Chair of The Careers & Enterprise Company; Anna Dunn, CEO of JPMorganChase U.K.; Tim Berry, Global Head of Corporate Responsibility for JPMorganChase; and other employers, policymakers and non-profit organisations. Given the firm’s presence as the largest private sector employer in Bournemouth, and recent investment to enhance career readiness in the South-West region, Bournemouth MPs Jessica Toale and Tom Hayes co-hosted the discussion in Parliament.

“We are investing in skills and training to help U.K. residents access greater career opportunities, because we think engaged labour force participation is a critical element of the strong economy that benefits U.K. business,” said Anna Dunn, CEO of JPMorganChase U.K. “Our continued investments will support the U.K.’s increased focus on boosting skills and pathways to quality careers.”

Further detail on the latest work

1. Boosting career readiness

In the U.K., nearly 1 in 7 young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET), the highest level since 2013.² Data also indicates that work experience can increase a young person’s chances of staying in school or employment by 47%, yet students do not have equal access to work experience across the country.³ At the same time, disadvantaged young people who access high quality career guidance, including work experience, are 20% less likely to become NEET.

The U.K. government’s broader education and skills reform as well as the Youth Guarantee - which aims to offer young people in England access to education, training or work - offers an opportunity to address issues of social mobility and economic inequality.

The firm’s commitment

JPMorganChase is providing an additional £3.3 million to CEC to help address the work experience gap for underserved young people by providing multiple and bespoke high-quality career interactions. This programming will offer tailored work experience to improve career readiness and employability of over 3,700 young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds over three years, exposing young people to different growth sectors, work environments, and offer skill building opportunities. Through the support of JPMorganChase, CEC will work with 500 employers and 250 schools to improve the way they prepare young people for their next steps.

The firm has a longstanding relationship with CEC and in 2021 JPMorganChase provided £2 million in support for a career readiness pilot helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. This pilot initially supported 1,000 young people through coaching and work placements to transition from education into work or training. The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) examined the impact of the pilot and found positive results – the education choices and career chances of young people were significantly improved upon participating in the pilot.

94% successfully transferred to college or training on leaving school at 16
93% are still on their course after six months, compared to 87.8% of all disadvantaged young people

Today’s renewed support for CEC brings the firm’s total support to over £8 million – helping over 6,200 young people and driving long-term impact and scaling learnings from the firm’s investments meeting wider NEET prevention ambitions, aligned to the government’s Youth Guarantee.

2. Revamping work experience at JPMorganChase

OECD research highlights that multiple touch points with employers and exposure to the world of work during secondary school is crucial to prepare young people for future careers and enhances their earning potential.⁴ However, across the U.K. students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are significantly less likely to access these opportunities.

The firm’s commitment

JPMorganChase has upgraded its new work experience programme and will host over 250 students a year in London, Bournemouth, Glasgow, and most recently has expanded the offering to Edinburgh. Working with Uptree, a careers organisation, the firm will promote the programme in local schools in areas where students face greater barriers.

This initiative will help students develop the key skills employers look for and complements the firm’s existing degree-level apprenticeship program and our Aspiring Professionals Programme (APP). The APP, run by the Social Mobility Foundation, has helped more than 800 young people secure a job at JPMorganChase and other firms since 2012.

A young person that participated in a JPMorganChase work exposure programme said: “This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, working in a team and having to take responsibility for my work. We had to overcome conflict in our team and learn to collaborate and get back on track. I’ll be able to use these skills in the future as I pursue my studies and beyond as I think about work.”

Overall progress on the firm’s £40 million commitment and new small business investments

Since JPMorganChase’s 2024 announcement, the firm has deployed over £10 million in the first year of the five-year commitment through support for non-profit organisations such as CEC, Young Enterprise, Nest Insights, and other organisations. Beyond this deployment, which focuses on financial health and skills, JPMorganChase has also provided an additional £5.2 million to support small businesses in the U.K.

Specifically, the firm has moved forward on the following:

JPMorganChase Fintech Forward Programme: Following last year’s commitment to launch an accelerator supporting the development of financial management tools, the Fintech Forward Programme will aid companies in developing solutions to help businesses and residents improve access to financial services. Applications open this month and successful applicants will join workshops, webinars, the Slush Helsinki tour and an offsite at the JPMorganChase Glasgow Technology and Innovation Centre, leveraging the firm’s network and gaining exposure to external experts and JPMorganChase mentors.
Enhancing access to supply chains: Building on the firm’s 2024 announcement, JPMorganChase is providing £1.2 million in additional support to Newable, a small business advice organisation, to pilot a two-year programme. This initiative aims to improve supply chain access for 15,000 underserved U.K. small businesses in sectors like food and drink, construction, and facilities management by connecting them to major vendors with government contracts. The programme aligns with the U.K. government's upcoming Procurement Act, which aims to simplify public sector procurement and boost small business participation in the economy.
Supporting CDFIs to deploy small business loans: JPMorganChase has provided £4 million in support to Responsible Finance, a non-profit focused on small businesses, to enhance the operational capacity of Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) so they can finance and support more small businesses. This support aims to make CDFIs' operations more efficient with new technology, attract more customers with better marketing and communication and bolster leadership through employee training. This initiative complements British Business Bank's plan to lend £150 million to small businesses over the next two years.

Quotes:

John Yarham, Interim CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company, said: “We are proud to continue our partnership with JPMorganChase, which has already proven how regionally targeted and tailored careers support can improve young people’s outcomes. This latest investment builds on a growing evidence base that shows how structured, high-quality work experience can build confidence, increase employability, and help young people take their best next step – especially those furthest away from work-related networks.”

Jessica Toale, MP for Bournemouth West, said: “Breaking down barriers to opportunity is a key mission for this government. We are reforming skills training to ensure every young person has better access to the education, training, and employment that meets their aspirations. JPMorganChase's new £3.3 million investment offers a significant opportunity to tackle barriers to social mobility and foster economic growth. The firm's 2024 career readiness investment in the South-West region underscores their commitment to Bournemouth. I am proud to support these efforts to enhance career guidance for young people in our area.”

JPMorganChase in the United Kingdom

With a legacy dating back more than 200 years, JPMorganChase has a track record of demonstrating leadership during times of both economic growth and financial instability. The firm provides £600 billion in credit and capital to nearly 4,500 medium and large companies and supports over two million retail customers. At the same time, together with its non-profit partners the firm has supported over 33,000 low income households to reduce their debt and improve their financial health, helped over 10,800 small businesses to grow their activity and placed over 9,800 individuals into apprenticeships or full and part-time employment.

¹https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Global_Social_Mobility_Report.pdf

² https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024

³ https://www.oecd.org/publications/career-talks-with-guest-speakers-93594cb3-en.htm

⁴ https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/career-guidance-social-inequality-and-social-mobility_e98d0ae7-en.html