The Mayor of London has commissioned Action for Race Equality to produce a series of short films to promote the uptake of the Mayor’s free Inclusive Employers Toolkit for Senior Leaders.
The films are part of a drive to improve diversity, equity and inclusion policies across leading sectors in London, such as construction, finance, digital and technology.
Boosting Black talent
In particular, it urges employers to take meaningful steps to improve the employment outcomes for young Black men in London – a group twice as likely to be unemployed compared to young white men regardless of qualification level.
It directs viewers to use readily available tools and strategies found in a free, step-by-step guide: the Inclusive Employers Toolkit. This toolkit has been created by the Mayor’s Workforce Integration Network and Action for Race Equality’s Moving on Up programme.
This ground-breaking employment initiative aims to help companies increase the recruitment, retention and progression of young Black men aged 16-24 in the capital within their workforces.
Action for Race Equality
Find out more about the toolkit here.
Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, said: “Young Black men currently have some of the lowest employment rates in London’s labour market.
“The toolkit will help many of the employers – particularly in the construction and tech sector – to think practically about the ways they can encourage young Black men with the talent and aspirations to join their workforces: to consider construction and tech as viable careers and to really think about what they could do as employers that young Black men can really thrive in their workplaces.”
Jeremy Crook OBE, CEO of Action for Race Equality, said: “Organisations all across the country are looking out for sustainable and effective EDI practices. The Inclusive Employers Toolkit is a great place to start for employers in London who wants to be decisive in recruiting talented young Black men. Our message to Chief Executives is: read the toolkit, and use it to make a commitment to improving your company’s ethnic diversity.”
Leigh Maxfield, Employment & Skills partner at Thames Water, one of the employers featured in the film, and a member of Moving on Up’s dedicated Employer Champions Group, said: “I just want to say to any company out there thinking about taking up the toolkit: why wouldn’t you?
“This toolkit will have benefits not just externally – to make sure you reflect the customers that you serve – but also internally: making it a more friendly, welcoming and inclusive place to work for all your employees.”
Watch the film on Youtube.
