Less than 10% of the UK’s tech talent comes from lower-income backgrounds compared to nearly 30% in finance and 23% in law. An obstacle for such workers is the tech sector’s tight referral network.
“You are nine times more likely to be hired through an employee referral; however, if you come from a less privileged background like me, chances are you don’t have a professional network to get referred,” Tangent founder Gary Izunwa told TechEU.
Tangent helps connect job seekers from low-income backgrounds to mentors at companies like Stripe and Amazon, who can later provide references for the jobseekers.
The company, whose founders are LinkedIn alums, raised €1.1 million ($1.2 million) from Google’s Black Founders Fund, Zinc VC, the SyndicateRoom and a number of tech founders.
“Social mobility and being mobile mean that you’ve been able to ‘progress’ from your parents’ socioeconomic background and income,” said Izunwa.
