What is OurCity2030? A Bristol Initiative Project Deep Dive

Bristol has been consistently reported as a higher economic growth region than average for the last 15 years and it is a major economic player of the West of England. However, not every area of Bristol is able to share in the fruit of this growth. Forty-one areas of Bristol are known to be within the most deprived 10% in England, and three in the city’s south and inner-city districts are within the most deprived 1%.  

OurCity2030, launched by Bristol Initiative Member and social enterprise Babbasa as part of Bristol’s broader One City Plan, aims at fostering a fairer, more inclusive future for our city. The OurCity2030 project launched in November 2022 and its vision is a bold one: - to support at least one person from each inner-city household to achieve a median salary (£30,353) by 2030 by providing pathways into Bristol’s most successful sectors. These include creative industries, green jobs, professional services, health and social care, and hospitality.

Business West, and the Bristol Initiative in particular, has partnered with the team at OurCity2030 to help deliver this exciting vision. Other partners include Arup, Black South West Network, Bristol & Bath Regional Capital, Bristol City Council (through the One City Office), Cabot Learning Federation, the University of Bristol, and UWE Bristol. 

We have worked with Babbasa and the Bristol One City Office to raise awareness of the OurCity2030 project amongst our membership, and to encourage leading Bristol business to get involved.  

The programme has already supported 229 young people in securing employment during its pilot phase. It now aims to support up to 600 young people annually, with an end goal of supporting 2,030 people into median income employment over the next 6 years.

OurCity2030 has launched several pathways, working together with industry leaders and young people. In 2023, the first pathway into Creative & Tech was successfully piloted with the BCI (Bristol Creative Industries) Internship Programme. 22 young people participated in the pilot pathway, across two cohorts working with local creative businesses such as Bristol Initiative Members, Aardman Animation and Proctor & Stevenson.

Now the pathway into arts & agriculture, in partnership with Big Team, and pathway into Built Environment, in partnership with AtkinsRealis, have launched in 2024. These pathways aim to offer placements in their chosen industries to Bristol’s most underrepresented young people. It is inspiring to see organisations working together to reduce barriers of entry for these different sectors and to lead on diversity, equal opportunity, and inclusion at the workplace.  

We recently attended the launch of the OurCity2030 Pathway into Built Environment. It is specifically designed to address underrepresentation within the Built Environment Sector. The Built Environment sector is one of the top industries of interest for young people from Asian and Black backgrounds. However, although 19% of Bristol’s population is from ethnic minority backgrounds, only 8.2% of them work in construction and 13.3% in real estate, financial, professional and administrative activities. This event was a chance for businesses and the community to review their recruitment process and the skill sets they look for through the lens of inclusivity. 

Jenny Ablett, our Membership Account Manager for Bristol, said: 

"It has been fantastic to learn the impact OurCity2030 has already had on the young people that Babbasa supports. The future of the project is exciting and offers great opportunities for the Bristol business community to become involved." 

Poku Osei, Founder of Babbasa said:  

"Our City 2030 provides Bristol with a unique convening platform for businesses, community partners, education providers, funders, policymakers and young people to directly work together." 

Ex-Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees also emphasised: 

"This initiative showcases what Bristol can achieve, with partners collaborating and driving forward a vision for a truly inclusive city economy.”  

We are proud to be a partner in this exciting project to provide opportunities to lower-income communities in Bristol. It allows us to have a meaningful social impact on our city, upskilling underrepresented groups, and provides a pathway to systemic change for the more deprived areas of Bristol.  

We encourage businesses to get involved in OurCity2030, and make a difference in our city. If you would like to learn more about it, please contact Jenny Ablett (jenny.ablett@businesswest.co.uk) or ourcity2030@byep.org.uk.