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Graduates from low-income backgrounds 62% more likely to earn above UK median salary with targeted career support, major independent study finds
As AI reshapes the graduate jobs market, new independent research delivers the strongest evidence yet that structured career intervention can help level the playing field for graduates from low-income backgrounds. The findings have prompted £1m in new funding to futureproof the programme.
Low-income graduates who receive structured career support are 62% more likely to earn above the UK median graduate salary than peers from similar backgrounds who do not, according to a major new independent study. The findings arrive as AI-driven disruption begins to reshape the graduate jobs market in ways that threaten to hit first-generation graduates hardest - making the evidence for targeted, personalised support more important than ever.
The research, funded by The Hg Foundation and carried out independently by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), compared graduates supported by the social mobility charity upReach against carefully matched peers, controlling for socio-economic background, school type, A-level grades and demographics. upReach programme participants outperformed their matched peers on every single measure assessed.
The study found that upReach participants are 44% more likely to secure highly skilled full-time employment, and 30% more likely to be in full-time employment of any kind, compared to matched peers from similar backgrounds who received no upReach support. They are also 31% more likely to achieve a positive graduate destination overall (defined as either highly skilled employment or progression to a higher degree) and 62% more likely to earn above the UK median graduate salary.
The results are even more striking for students specifically pursuing careers in technology - a sector where just 9% of the workforce currently comes from lower socio-economic backgrounds, compared to 39% of the UK population. Tech500 participants are 65% more likely to secure highly skilled full-time employment and 80% more likely to earn above the UK median graduate salary compared to matched peers.
The findings arrive at a precarious moment for graduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds. UK graduate vacancies are at their lowest since 2012, with the tech sector hit particularly hard. The average tech graduate role now attracts 180 applications per vacancy. At the same time, the rapid adoption of AI is beginning to reshape entry-level roles – the very positions that first-generation graduates have traditionally depended on to gain a foothold in professional careers. For graduates without professional networks or family connections, these shifts risk compounding an already significant disadvantage.
upReach takes a uniquely personalised approach to tackling these class barriers: every student on their programmes receives a dedicated full-time Programme Coordinator who guides them personally through the entirety of their undergraduate degree. Rather than navigating an array of disconnected services, students are supported by a single named professional who not only provides coaching, but also coordinates their access to mentoring, application support, employer insight events and skills-boosting bootcamps – helping them make the most of each intervention at every stage. Going forward, as AI adoption reshapes the skills employers seek, Programme Coordinators are increasingly supporting students to develop the blend of technical and human skills needed to succeed in an evolving labour market.
The strength of the evaluation findings has prompted The Hg Foundation to commit a further £1 million to upReach and the Tech500 programme. This is their second regrant and marks the start of a third phase of collaboration running from summer 2026 to summer 2028. The funding will sustain the 1-to-1 Programme Coordinator model, the annual Tech500 Summer Bootcamp, and a calendar of employer insight days, hackathons and skills workshops. It will also expand access to mentoring, exclusive employer-led opportunities and AI literacy, ensuring the programme continues to equip students for a labour market that is changing faster than at any point in recent history.
The renewed funding builds on a programme that has already reached significant scale. upReach currently supports more than 3,200 students from across the UK and has supported nearly 1,000 students through the Tech500 programme alone since 2021, with over 500 graduate roles offered to Tech500 students to date. Employer partners include Accenture, Amazon, Google, Samsung and Microsoft.
Every Associate on our programme has a named member of our staff team as their personal career coach; someone who knows their story, understands their goals, and helps them navigate a system that was never designed with them in mind. This evaluation tells us that this approach delivers real, lasting results, and this new funding means we can keep doing what works, build on the opportunities we know can truly transform students’ career pathways, and importantly ensure support for students continues to evolve in step with an ever-changing graduate labour market. We hope this evidence also helps to change how employers, funders and policymakers think about what real intervention looks like.
The graduate labour market is undergoing a structural shift. AI is reshaping entry-level roles, competition for positions is intensifying, and graduates from lower income backgrounds face the sharpest edge of that change. Independent evidence now shows that targeted, personalised support can make a remarkable difference: Tech500 graduates are 80% more likely to earn above the median salary than matched peers. As the landscape continues to change, programmes like this – that adapt to the hiring context, that are grounded in evidence, and that reach the students who need support most – are more vital than ever. That's why we're proud to commit a further £1 million to upReach's Tech500 as it enters a new chapter.
About upReach:
upReach is an award-winning social mobility charity driven by a vision of a society in which everybody has an equal opportunity to realise their full career potential, regardless of social background. Working in close partnership with leading employers and universities, they support 3,200+ students from across the UK to discover a variety of career options, and develop the vital employability skills, networks and experiences needed to succeed in their chosen career and beyond.
Find out more at upreach.org.uk
Registered charity number: 1158896
About The Hg Foundation:
The vision of The Hg Foundation is that the tech workforce of the future harnesses the talents of all, regardless of background. To achieve this, it helps underrepresented groups to access high quality jobs in tech by supporting education- and employment-based programmes across the UK, Europe and North America. The Foundation, which is an independent registered charity, is funded by Hg, a leading transatlantic software investor. To date, the Foundation has committed $45m, supported 55 education and employment programmes, and helped more than 80,000 young people and adults access opportunities in the technology sector.
Find out more at thehgfoundation.com
Registered charity number: 1189216
About the Tech500 programme:
The upReach Tech500 is a tailored programme of careers support for 500 undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds who are looking to secure graduate roles in the technology sector. The programme is the result of a groundbreaking partnership between upReach and the Hg Foundation. Delivered in collaboration with leading technology employers, this comprehensive programme includes exclusive training, networking and development opportunities for students, including an intensive one-week summer bootcamp to develop students’ technical digital skills.
