Action needed to attract BAME candidates onto training programmes.
Co-authored by Sharon Blyfield, HR Business Partner at Coca-Cola European Partners Limited and AELP Board Member and Jane Hickie, Managing Director, Association of Employment and Learning Providers
Just before Christmas, the government published official statistics for the apprenticeships programme in England and it was another set of data showing the terrible impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the take-up of the programme during 2020.
The statistics contained a little ray of the light in reporting that even though 42,100 BAME apprenticeship starts are a decrease compared to 48,400 in 2018/19, the proportion of BAME starts increased from 12.5% in 2018/19 to 13.3% in 2019/20. However, the 13.3 percentage still falls short of the 14.5% proportion of England’s population with a BAME background which was recorded in the 2011 census.
It is not a proud record by any means, But before any fingers are pointed, the reality is that employers, training providers, schools, parents and government could all be doing better. This apprenticeships issue is not just confined to recruitment from the BAME communities because other data confirms that the proportion of school leavers going into an apprenticeship has hardly changed from around 6-7% in the last ten years. This is despite multi-million pound government marketing campaigns, launched to raise awareness among employers and young people about the benefits of apprenticeships.
Updated Measures
- Another key measure in the Plan for Jobs was an additional £111m this year for Traineeships in England to fund high quality work placements and training for 16 to 24 year olds. Employers may receive £1,000 per trainee, up to 10 trainees. Placements are a vital first step on the ladder to the world for work for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and the programme has an enviable track-record of delivering positive outcomes for its learners.
- A further welcome measure has been the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which has been effective in keeping apprentices in employment with the added bonus that they can continue training while on furlough. In this respect, apprenticeship training providers have done a fantastic job in keeping programmes going remotely despite the challenges involved in delivering work based learning online.
- For adults who don’t yet have a level 3 qualification (equivalent to an A level), the government will introduce from April 2021 a Lifetime Skills Guarantee. This will enable an adult to train or study for free for a level 3 qualification from a list of 400 qualifications spread across a wide range of sectors.
- The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and its 800 training provider members want to make sure that all these opportunities are available to young people and adults from BAME communities. We have been talking to organisations such as the BAME Apprenticeship Alliance and Amazing Apprenticeships for several years about increasing the take-up and getting more commitment from employers and providers and there are still areas where everyone involved needs to improve.
On the question of where training providers could be doing more to find candidates and match them with employers, we know that identifying talent requires a talent pool and there’s no better place to start than BAME communities. This means regular engagement with local schools, mosques, churches and community members. A key lesson from experience is that it is important to work closely with a few rather than loosely with many.
FACING THE CHALLENGE
It is crucial as Britain becomes even more diverse to recognise that a blanket approach does not work across all intersections of BAME communities. This means that understanding the challenges of Black communities is different from Asian communities and different to those from, say, Eastern European countries etc. The advice to providers and other relevant stakeholders is to study the areas of target and understand the breakdown of ethnicities, learn about the various cultures and engage with them respectively. Moreover it is vital to utilise existing apprentices as powerful case studies to showcase and share their journey.
One reason why strong case studies matter is that traditional careers such as medicine, law, and engineering etc have been seen to tick the pillars of good social mobility, especially among South Asian families, namely: opportunity, progression, job security, skills and money. Presenting alternative career routes with clear case studies is the best way to overcome the barriers of perception related to vocational training programmes such as apprenticeships. We include a couple of examples on the opposite page of young people who have had positive experiences through apprenticeships.
A DESIRE TO SUCCEED
Let’s be honest; training providers might be fully signed up to getting more BAME apprentices and learners engaged but often they must work hard to find local employers with the same level of commitment towards recruitment. The message which providers should present is that for a BAME apprentice to thrive within an organisation, the culture must be one which allows them to be encouraged to learn and grow. This is important because individuals from these communities bring with them previous experiences of resilience and challenges through hardships which many BAME youth use as motivation to become more socially mobile. They hold a desire to succeed to the very top with the right opportunity and organisation. This is a characteristic that most employers find embedded with all apprentices, but perhaps they don’t realise how strong it is within young people from BAME backgrounds.
The numbers at the start of this article show that even if all training providers adopt best practice, we still have a considerable way to go before the proportion of apprentices who are from BAME communities overtakes the BAME percentage of the population in England. As referred to earlier, the action required needs to be a team effort. In our secondary schools, for example, there are brilliant teachers who volunteer to become apprenticeship champions but not all schools are prepared to inform their students about the advantages which apprenticeships offer despite a legal obligation (the so-called ‘Baker Clause’) to do so. AELP believes that the government should be much tougher in enforcing the obligation. How can students from BAME communities go home to explain to their parents or guardians the benefits of a non-university route if they are not being informed about them in the first place?
The threat of prolonged economic uncertainty could turn 2021 into a challenging year for all employment and skills training programmes, but we should not use this as an excuse to do less to promote opportunities to individuals from BAME communities. On the contrary, we should be doing even more and at board level, AELP is preparing a strategy to enable this. It is an exciting challenge to have.
AKEEM GRAHAM- Media broadcast camera operator at BBC Media Production, Level 3 Apprentice
My job role is to be on constant call for programmes (such as the One, Six and Ten O’Clock News etc) and journalists (UK Newsgathering, World service, Digital etc) who are working a story and need a camera crew.
My job can vary from a quick zoom interview, a few days filming abroad or filming departure shots of the Prime Minister outside Downing street. Every day is different, and you must be prepared for all types of situations.
I have filmed at Liverpool’s training ground ahead of their Champions League final against Tottenham. I had the pleasure of being second camera in an interview with the manager, Jurgen Klopp, and Player of the Year, Virgil Van Dijk. I got pictures with them both and the interviews aired on BBC Breakfast.
My proudest moment has to be graduating from the Apprenticeship scheme. I was given the opportunity to make a graduation video, give a speech about my journey and also was presented with the ‘Promising leader Award’. The day reflected all my hard work over the 12 months of my course, which didn’t go unnoticed by my employers.
Akeem’s advice: If university isn’t for you, then this is an amazing alternative.
HENNA BASHARAT-Lab technician at Specsavers, Spectacle Maker, Level 3 (Advanced) apprenticeship
My job role is to help with the production and manufacture of spectacles, to carry out the quality control process and to ensure lenses are ordered through the system correctly. Some tasks during a typical working day include blocking, glazing and final checking spectacles, sorting the lens delivery and contacting any patients whose spectacles are delayed.
The most exciting project I have worked on during my apprenticeship would have to be planning and organising a series of school visits with one of the store directors to encourage more children to enter STEM based careers. It was also lovely to be able to give a speech at my old secondary school about my experience as an apprentice.
One of my proudest moments since starting my apprenticeship would be making it on to the Modern Muse Youth Board as a female empowerment ambassador, or perhaps making it into the apprenticeship handbook!
Henna’s advice: Remember you’re not in it to take part, you’re in it to take over!
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