Urban Land Institute calls on property chiefs to back educational charity driving diversity and social value via schools outreach 

• Urban Land Institute calling for industry to back social impact-generating educational initiative that engages school students from diverse backgrounds to embrace regeneration
• Since 2015, the UrbanPlan UK charity has reached 204 state schools, focusing on those receiving free school meals and on students from diverse backgrounds
• Charity seeks funding to reach 4,500 more students across 145 additional schools with 92% of participants now considering a career in real estate

UrbanPlan, the educational charity set up by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in 2015, is seeking additional funders in a bid to diversify the property industry’s future workforce and equip them with a broader array of practical skills. The charity has already run workshops with more than 4,300 young people from diverse backgrounds.

Current funders include Landsec, Grosvenor’s Westminster Foundation, Orion Capital, Legal & General, Black Heart Foundation, Tristan Capital and British Land.

The initiative encourages GCSE, A Level and BTEC students from across disciplines to consider contemporary land use. Workshops delivered by volunteers from sponsor companies alongside professional facilitators see students focus on the redevelopment of a blighted site, competing to develop the winning proposal and secure a contract from a fictional local council.

Due to school closures, UrbanPlan was digitised during summer 2020, allowing it to function successfully in spite of the pandemic with a dynamic, hands-on programme.

The charity has grown in popularity over the last two years as leading businesses prioritise the creation of social value inside and outside their organisations.

The scheme acts as a powerful social value generator, with workshops equipping students with key employability skills including communication, teamwork, problem-solving and creative thinking. Research suggests that employer engagement of this kind increases earnings of school leavers by up to 18% on average, while reducing the likelihood of students becoming a NEET (not in employment, education or training).

Diversity and inclusion are central to UrbanPlan. Striving to reach groups traditionally underrepresented in the property industry, 41% of participating students are from African, Caribbean or Black British backgrounds, and a further 21% from Asian or Asian British backgrounds. Seeking to tackle the industry’s gender imbalance, 43% of students are female.

Over 93% percent of students said that UrbanPlan helped them to understand how the property industry works, while 88% said it gave them an insight into possible careers in the industry.

UrbanPlan also has a positive impact on its sponsors, giving them the opportunity to shape and guide the programme’s roll-out, promote the role of real estate in driving urban regeneration for future generations, and to work in partnership with a group of like-minded industry colleagues.

To reach a further 4,500 state school students over the next three years, ULI is seeking a group of funders to work at the centre of the initiative and to further develop its growth and impact.

Key plans include the creation of a post-workshop toolkit, allowing teachers, funders and volunteers to build long-lasting relationships with participating schools through ongoing mentoring and work experience opportunities, often within the local areas that they work.

Anette Simpson, chair of ULI UK, said:

“The only way our sector will tackle its diversity problem is through direct action that tackles the elephant in the room: class and social background. Responsible capitalism must ensure social barriers no longer hold back capable people. I’ve been especially impressed by the confidence boost that many female students receive from these sorts of programmes when it comes to knowing what they can achieve through a career in property.

“As a charitable initiative, UrbanPlan has only been made possible by the industry’s ongoing generosity. We need to have a genuine, long-lasting impact on young people’s lives and this is a fantastic opportunity for pioneering firms to create an immense amount of social value.”

Van Stults, managing director at Orion Capital Partners and global trustee of ULI, said:

“As a white male in an industry dominated by white males, I would be the first to admit that we as business leaders need to do more to encourage diversity. But we need to be honest about where solutions lie and a massive part of the challenge is around education and ensuring the right mix of people come into business early. UrbanPlan gives property professionals the chance to connect directly with students from a range of backgrounds helping ensure that the sector is reflective of every part of our society. If we want to diversify our boards, we’re going to have to start with our young people, and educational initiatives like this present the perfect opportunity to do so.

“UrbanPlan has been a huge success so far in reaching students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and we’re planning for new funding to play a key role in ensuring we reach even more students from these groups, especially those on free school meals.”