TUC targets access to apprenticeships for BME youth

The TUC has published guidance for union negotiators to help tackle race equality and apprenticeships so that young black and minority ethnic (BME) workers do not miss out on the benefits that apprenticeships can offer.

Young BME workers are underrepresented in apprenticeship schemes. People in this group make up 14% for the population but only 7.8% are in apprenticeships.

The TUC guidance highlights the current increase in funding to apprenticeships as providing an opportunity for union negotiators to take the initiative in working with employers to provide good quality apprenticeships. It also addresses some of the barriers that have been faced by young BME people in accessing apprenticeships.

The guidance includes a checklist as a starting point for developing a bargaining agenda that is focussed on providing access for BME apprentices into union organised workplaces.

Four issues are highlighted:

• the need for comprehensive monitoring systems to enable assessment of strategies to increase diversity in apprenticeships;

• the need to ensure that black workers gain access to good quality apprenticeships and to ensure that discrimination by employers is tackled so that they are able to obtain workplace placements;

• the need to ensure that young black women are able to access the full range of apprenticeships; and

• the need to focus on outcomes as well as apprenticeship starts to ensure that black apprentices graduate to full time jobs or higher learning.

The guidance is available at: www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-21440-f0.pdf