The statistics tell us that
Statistically speaking, the broad statement ‘white ethnic minority population’ comes as part and parcel of a number of interesting figures according to Birmingham Professional DiverCity and, of course, the 2001 census:
- by 2010 the white population of
- in September 2000, seven years ago, the majority of children entering Birmingham’s primary school system were from ethnic minority groups;
- the population is ageing. By 2003 a quarter of the population was over 40 and this trend is set to increase; and
-
Unemployment statistics by ethnicity
Unemployment statistics for
- More than 20% of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, black African, black
- More than 21% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi women are unemployed, compared with roughly half that percentage of black African or black
Employee relations issues
So what do the numbers actually mean for employers in
Unfortunately, the correct answer is that it depends on who you ask. Employers with good employee relations are those who talk to their employees and engage in active dialogue. Those who have meaningful communication, and who engage their workforce in the goals and strategic direction of the business have good employee relations and reduced conflict. Employers who plan for change, who adopt flexible arrangements and value human capital are the ones that are geared up for the employment challenges of the 21st century. Good employers come in all shapes, sizes and ethnic backgrounds. Sadly, so do bad ones.
As uncomfortable as it will be to say it, employers in
The ethnic make-up of the emerging workforce in the city will bring with it challenges of its own. For example, in the wake of 9/11, we were told that young Muslim men find it the hardest to obtain employment in this country. When they do succeed in obtaining employment, it is most likely to be in the lower paid, less skilled jobs. The accuracy of this statement is reflected in the statistics above. If this ethnic group is going to be an engaged, productive and contributing proportion of the workforce in the 21st century, the disaffection must be addressed. Vocational skills will have to be improved through education, training and engagement in order to train this pool of potential employees.
Actually there is a lot of debate on the issue at the moment and plenty of food for thought. Birmingham Strategic Partnership has set its economic strategy for the city for 2005-15 and the vision and key actions contain some acknowledgement of the problems facing the city in the coming years as it talks of “accessible employment opportunities for all” and a desire to create “a city which has made significant steps to address the inequalities between its diverse communities”.
Birmingham Strategic Partnership estimates that 32% of unemployed people in the region lack the basic skills needed to access and maintain employment. Educating young people is seen to be key to the longer-term future, with steps needed to tackle the poor qualification levels which are concentrated in some ethnic groups. There is an acceptance that education needs to be flexible to engage the excluded and disaffected groups, and that it must run alongside steps to improve access to employment opportunities for these communities.
What the future holds
As
Currently, less than 20% of the professional community are from black and ethnic minority groups, despite the fact that these groups currently make up 30% of
The skills gap is being addressed in some way by the fact that 26% of black or ethnic minority people aged 18-24 are studying for a degree, compared with 14% of the white population, but this does not necessarily mean that those graduating will have the vocational skills and experience needed to plug the gap.
At a recent HRXchange conference in
David Taylor is not the only one to spot the issues for the future, with many industry and professional graduate recruitment programmes being run as far afield as eastern Europe because of the shortage of the local supply.
The construction industry is already feeling the brunt of the labour market shortfall across the country in terms of shortage of skilled craftsmen, tradesmen and labourers. Many of the traditional roles are being filled from eastern Europe, and this is causing headaches at site level across the region, with language barriers being a main cause for concern.
It is easy to see why
In the meantime, employers will just have to continue to compete for talent in a diminishing pool of skilled workers and utilise their own resources to train the workforce, at least for the time being.
Ruth Armstrong is a partner and head of the employment and health and safety practice at HBJ Gateley Wareing in