Jobseekers across the UK are set to benefit from mentoring
support designed to help them into work, as Employment Minister
announced the rollout of a
successful initiative.
Last year around 500 jobseekers from ethnic minority backgrounds
attended sessions hosted by experienced staff from large
companies including KPMG, Fujitsu, HSBC and Network Rail to get
help with CV writing, goal setting, job applications and
interview practice.
Many participants went on to start work, while others have gone
into training or further education to help them get closer to the
job they want.
Now, Mr Sharma has announced the rollout of the mentoring circles
initiative beyond the black and minority ethnic (BAME) community
to across the Jobcentre Plus network nationally, for all
claimants on all benefits. This will start in London in March and
then roll-out across the country from April.
The mentoring circles were launched by the Employment Minister
last year in response to the Race Disparity Audit and ran in 20
challenge areas across the country.
While the average employment gap between ethnic minorities and
the white population is less than 10% – a record low – a number
of areas with a high ethnic minority population have
significantly wider ethnic employment gaps. For example Hackney,
one challenge area, and has an ethnic minority employment gap of
22.0 percentage points while Leicester, another challenge area,
has a gap of 16.9 percentage points.
Now with the roll-out of the mentoring circles, every jobcentre
has access to a local toolkit help work coaches get to know the
make-up of their micro-labour market for all claimants on all
benefits and will help to determine who will benefit from an
initiative of this kind.
Work coaches can also use the toolkit to improve on the
personalised service they offer by finding out more about the
health profile of people living in their area and the disability
employment rate.
Minister of State for Employment said:
The whole purpose of the Race Disparity Audit was to get us to
face difficult, and sometimes uncomfortable, issues. Where
there were differences in representation, participation or
achievement across ethnic minorities, we were challenged to
explain them – or change them.
I took the road for change.
The mentoring pilots for jobseekers from ethnic minority
backgrounds have made a difference by supporting them into
further training, work experience placements or jobs.
This support has clear value which is why I have asked
jobcentres across the country to run more mentoring circles,
supporting more jobseekers to overcome the barriers they face
and to find the work they want.
Rupal Karia, Head of UK&I – Public and Private Sector and
Executive Sponsor of the Cultural Diversity Network at Fujitsu
said:
Mentoring circles are an excellent initiative and one Fujitsu
is delighted to be involved in. I am committed to this
initiative and it was an honour to host the first in-house
industry led mentoring circles session in our Manchester
office.
This initiative helps people to maximise their potential,
develop their skills and enable them to be completely
themselves in the workplace. If we help one person get into
work it will have been worth it.
Speaking at an event today with mentees and mentors from the
initiative, Mr Sharma thanked them for their support and hard
work.
