Guidance

Ethnic minority employment bulletin: January 2020

Updated 1 December 2022

Welcome to our January Bulletin, intended to provide LEPs with up to date information, articles, research, 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. We would really like to hear about the great work you are doing. Get in touch by emailing us at RACEDISPARITY.AUDITCORRESPONDENCE@DWP.GSI.GOV.UK.

Black History Month event at Downing Street

During Black History Month Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer, hosted a reception at 10 Downing Street attended by participants from DWP’s mentoring circle programme.

Later in the month HSBC and DWP co-hosted a “Raising Aspirations” event in Canary Wharf. With a keynote speech from Mims Davies, Minister for Employment, the 80 businesses attending discussed what more they could do to improve ethnic minority employment outcomes.

Second wave of Integration Strategy confirmed

In the 2019 Spending Round settlement MHCLG were given £10 million additional funding for English as a second language provision. This will enable the second wave of the Integration Areas Programme. Read more on the settlement.

Race and the City

Bristol City Council hosted a Race and the City, Tackling Race Inequality conference. Keynote speakers included Sir Simon Woolley, Founder/Director of Operation Black Vote and Chair of the Race Disparity Unit Advisory Group and Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, Independent lead of the Race in the Workplace: McGregor-Smith review. DWP’s work was highlighted. Read more on the conference.

Traineeship Provider List on GOV.UK

The Education and Skills Funding Agency have published a list of organisations that provide traineeships. This list is for young people looking for traineeships and employers looking to offer a traineeship.

5 Cities project presses on

On 13 November 2019 a roundtable meeting “Informing A Future Ethnic Minority Apprenticeship Strategy” was organised by the Education Skills & Funding Agency (ESFA). External stakeholders were invited to inform the direction of travel of future widening participation strategies. The session was chaired by Jeremy Crook OBE, Chief Executive of the Black Training Enterprise Group (BTEG) and Chair of ESFA Apprenticeships Equality & Diversity Advisory Group. 30 participants representing, DWP, ESFA, National Account Managers, Third Sector organisations and employers were in attendance. For a full copy of the report please contact zahid.nawaz@education.gov.uk.

National Apprenticeship Week 2020

National Apprenticeship Week 2020 takes place in February, and we are delighted to announce that events now extend into Saturday and Sunday (now 3–9 February), giving greater opportunity for the apprenticeships community to get involved. The theme of The Week is ‘Look Beyond’ and supports the aims of the Fire It Up campaign in reaching out to and showcasing diversity in apprenticeships.

A series of toolkits are now available on GOV.UK – with unique toolkits to support employers, apprentices, teachers and parents with their #NAW2020 planning.

The National Apprenticeship Week 2020 events map is now also live, and we hope to see a variety of #LookBeyond events taking place over the course of The Week.

Ethnic Minority and Employment in the Media

• Recruiter: Britain board rooms need BAME representatives
• BBC: BBC to increase ethnic diversity in senior positions
• The Guardian: New app aims to help BAME professionals share job opportunities

We welcome any feedback on this bulletin and the best ways to communicate with LEPs and employers by emailing us at racedisparity.auditcorrespondence@dwp.gov.uk