Young Black men in London suffer from one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. 33% of young Black men are out of work, compared to a 15% unemployment rate among young White men. This is regardless of their education level: Black graduate unemployment is more than 3 times higher than that of their White peers.
As a business with a wide operational footprint across London, Telent has a responsibility to break down structural barriers that make it harder for young Black men to join the workforce, and more difficult to progress once they’re part of it.
That’s why we’ve has joined the Greater London Authority (GLA) Design Lab. Run by the office of the Mayor of London, the 12-month programme aims to support large businesses committed to tackling the underrepresentation of young Black men aged 16 to 24.
Currently focused on the Construction & Infrastructure and Technology sectors, the Design Lab creates a space for businesses to come together and collectively explore the causes of underrepresentation in their workforces and the broader sector in a data-driven manner.
Throughout 2022, Telent will be involved in workshops, one-to-one coaching and engagement with young people. It centres around building a bespoke action plan to recruit, retain and progress more young Black men in Telent’s business.
"We are proud to present the Greater London Authority (GLA) Design Labs 12-month programme tackling the under-representation of young Black men in the technology sector. Businesses have a responsibility to support this demographic who are more likely to work low paid, low opportunity jobs, despite their educational level. This initiative supports the work of Telent’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group who focus on creating an organisation where people feel involved, respected and connected, where the richness of perspectives and skills are harnessed to build a truly inclusive culture. We know that fostering a more diverse and inclusive workforce is not only the responsibility of our sector, but it also creates a stronger, more innovative and faster-growing industry and this is backed by research"
- Jemimah Parnell, Group HR Director at Telent
The Design Lab is part of the Mayor’s Workforce Integration Network (WIN) programme. It was established in 2018 as part of the Mayor’s Strategy for Social Integration to improve pathways for under-represented groups in the workplace.
The one-year direct involvement includes commitments from Telent that include providing a dedicated staffing team to engage with the programme throughout the year, action plans and three public commitments made at the end of the programme, and post-programme light-touch engagement.
Voices of the Underrepresented report, 2020 https://www.london.gov.uk/site...