Presentation to LVSC's Forum on European Funding in London, 2014-2020 (25th July 2013)

1. IMPROVING BAME EMPLOYMENT &
SKILLS OUTCOMES IN LONDON
Prepared by Jeremy Crook for
25 July 2013

2. 2
Education is the foundation
GCSE 2010/11

3. Key statistics
• Significant differences in work programme
performance for males (referrals to job
outcomes) White males (13.4%) and Black
Caribbean (8.9%)
• Employment rate for Pakistani/Bangladeshi
women 33.8% (April 2012 to March
2013, London). Unemployment rate 20.9%.
• 25% of on-line applications for Apprenticeships
are from BAME individuals but only 10% of
Apprentices are BAME in England. (NAS, 2013)
• 39% of apprenticeship starts in London (2011/12)
were BAME.

4. Labour Market: 16-24 Year Olds
• The above figures were published by the Office for National Statistics in
March 2012
16-24 Year Olds by Ethnicity
869,000 19,000 65,000
57,000
1,026,000
3,318,000
66,000
179,000
63,000 3,667,000
2,041,000
60,000
239,000 106,000
2,607,000
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
White Mixed Asian Black Total
ProportionofPopulation
Inactive
Employed
Unemployed

5. 5
16-24 Year Olds: Male
• Numbers in the chart show the number of people falling in each category
(e.g. 33,000 Black unemployed men, aged 16-24)
16-24 Year Olds by Ethnicity: Male
530,000 9,000 39,000
33,000
617,000
1,684,000
30,000 104,000
26,000 1,864,000
963,000
27,000 121,000 48,000
1,233,000
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
White Mixed Asian Black Total
ProportionofPopulation
Inactive
Employed
Unemployed

6. 16 - 24 yrs. National Unemployment Profile by Ethnicity (%)
Source: DWP, Ad hoc Analysis, May 2013
21
27.7 27.3
24.2
30.8
34.8
19
44.1

7. Source: Claimant stocks and flows - ethnicity, age and duration;
ONS, from Nomis on 19 June 2013

9. London Apprenticeships Starts Data

10. 10
SELF EMPLOYMENT RATES
All People 8%
Ethnic Minorities 7%
Black Caribbean 4.8%
Black African 5.1%
Mixed 5.4%
Pakistani 10.3%
A big gap between aspiration and actuality for African and Caribbean people
(Source: Office for National Statistics, 2011/Labour Force Survey 2010)

11. Explaining ethnic penalties- Discrimination
(Source: Anthony Health, Oxford & Manchester Universities)
• Field experiments in western countries routinely show
that job applicants with ‘foreign-sounding’ names receive
fewer call-backs from potential employers
• Such applicants often have to make twice as many
applications as their western peers
• Evidence that ethnic penalties and incidence of
discrimination are not restricted to the 1st generation but
are equally large for the 2nd generation
• Evidence that discrimination is greater in the private
sector and in smaller firms
• Evidence that discrimination is reduced in ‘bottleneck’
and high-tech occupations

12. Cont’d
• Discrimination does not appear to be the sole
cause of ethnic penalties
• Lack of ‘bridging social capital’ and knowledge
about vacancies can be important (especially
if recruitment is by word of mouth)
• The chill factor - worries that one will not be
welcome - can also put minorities off applying

13. 13
Overview of Government strategy
• Youth Contract (£1billion) will provide nearly half-a-
million new opportunities for 18-24 years olds, including
apprenticeships and voluntary work experience placements.
• Work Programme
• New Enterprise Allowance (40,000 individuals
support)
• Localism - Local Enterprise Partnerships
• Regional Growth Fund (According to National
Audit Office a job is costing between £5k and
£200k)

14. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS
• Targeted programmes for BAME jobseekers in 1-10 London
boroughs involving mainstream and specialist employment
providers with strong links to employers.
• Differential payment weighting for black jobseekers on Work
Programme.
• Political will to ensure ALL publicly funded employment and skills
providers have their performance monitored to close race
disparities
• Effective leadership on this issue is needed from the London’s
voluntary sector
• Employer Campaign - ‘Does your company reflect the young people
of London?’
• See Key Statistics at www.bteg.co.uk
Thank you.
jeremy@bteg.co.uk
Supported by Trust for London