Guidance

Ethnic minority employment bulletin: August 2019

Updated 1 December 2022

Welcome to our August 2019 bulletin, intended to provide Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) with up to date information, articles, research and case studies, as well as strategic and practical advice about all things ethnic minority employment.

Please share with us any information on activities you are doing, case studies, or initiatives, around increasing ethnic minority employment and progression in work. We would really like to hear about the great work you are doing. Get in touch at [email protected].

Race At Work Charter: calls to action

The 2018 Ruby McGregor-Smith review highlights the benefits of having a diverse workforce in your organisation. While the number of ethnic minorities in employment has greatly increased, there are still cases of lack of progression and employment within these groups.

Following the McGregor-Smith review, Business in the Community, the Prince’s Responsible Business Network, called upon businesses to sign up to the Race At Work Charter. The charter encourages organisations and leaders to follow ‘five calls to action’ to overcome barriers that ethnic minorities face.

There are 60 organisations that have committed to help tackle these challenges. Read more about the five calls to action.

Mayor launches Good Work Standard

On 29 July, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched the Good Work Standard. The scheme supports fair employment practices and workplace wellbeing. The toolkit has been developed in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Mayor Khan is encouraging employers to make:

London the best city in the world to work.

Companies such as Ernst and Young, KPMG, Schroders and several public sector employers are among the many organisations that have already been accredited in this scheme.

Read more information about the Good Work Standard.

Theatre diversity launches in Wales

On 18 June, the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU) launched an action plan with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to address the under-representation of ethnic minorities working in theatres in Wales. This followed a launch in England on 30 May in London. Studies show that ethnic minority applicants had to send at least 60% more applications to achieve the same success as their white colleagues.

After the launch, 29 organisations in Wales signed up for the action plan.

Start-up training for refugees in the UK

A one-year pilot has been launched by the Centre for Entrepreneurs. This project is jointly funded by the Home Office and the National Lottery Community Fund. This pilot is tailored to support refugees from idea stage to business launch through mentoring and training. The government is committed to increase integration for all refugees, with the focus being employment. Find out more about start-up training for refugees in the UK.

5 Cities Project

Since February 2018 the Department for Education has been running a project to increase under-represented groups from disadvantaged backgrounds taking apprenticeships. The Education and Skills Funding Agency is working with partners in a variety of ways in Greater Manchester, Greater London, Bristol, Greater Birmingham and Leicester to promote the take-up of apprenticeships. The project aims to develop a suite of tangible best practice activities that could be shared more widely to inform the work of other employers, providers and intermediaries in driving diversity through apprenticeships. To get in touch, email [email protected].

Ethnic minority employment in the media

• People management: Tackling the ethnic minority employment gap

• BBC news: Chinese ethnic group biggest earners in the UK

• INews: Ethnic minorities “much more vulnerable to loneliness”

Feedback

We welcome any feedback on this bulletin and the best ways to communicate with LEPs and employers by emailing us at [email protected].

Please be aware that the GSI element has been removed from DWP email addresses.