As more organisations strive to achieve Best Practice status and Investors in People plaques are now common place on office walls, the time has arrived for the UKís private sector to embrace recruiting a diverse workforce in order to challenge societyís outdated views.
The public sector is renowned for being a leader in recruiting people from a varied social backgrounds as they are less likely to discriminate against new staff depending on their age, gender, sexuality, religious faith, race, physical ability and or even those with criminal records. But it appears thatnow companies in the private sector are beginning to appreciate that they will be left behind in the employment stakes if their doors stay shut to people from usually often excluded groups.
One such agency to champion social inclusion in employment is talent!, which was recently awarded the National Recruitment Industry Award for Ethical and Social Responsibility. In partnership with sister company, At Work, and Voluntary and Community sector organisations, talent! is the largest recruitment company in the UK to specialise in the arena of diversity, and continues to stress the importance of recruiting a diverse workforce from its high street branches. In January 2006, talent! reported that over 60% of their placed candidates are from minority groups.
A diverse mix of social backgrounds and life experiences can also enrich the group dynamics within a work environment. Sharing different ideas, opinions and experiences can enhance the versatility and creativity of an organisation, while a diverse workforce offers a more balanced representation of the businessí customer base.
One of the main attractions to many organisations when looking for potential employees is the ability to communicate in another language. With over 300 languages including Farsi, Greek, Welsh, Gujerati, Japanese and British Sign Language used to communicate daily on our streets, England is the most diverse country in the EU when it comes to verbal communication. The most common languages used in Manchester second to English are Polish, Czech, Chinese and Hindi.
In Manchester, talent! has been working hard to fill vacancies for some of the cityís major employers across a wide range of clients including construction, hospitality, customer service and retail. Examples of these are.
Says Gavin Lawrie, regional manager of talent! in Manchester and West Yorkshire, ìNow is the ideal time to get over the back to work blues at our ’New Year, New career’ open day on 12th January from 8am to 7pm. Throughout the day, weíll be aiming to discuss the vacancies we have available, help people assess how best to use their talent and raise awareness of the fantastic work that talent! is doing for all kinds of people in Manchester.î
talent! believes there is a suitable job for everyone and ensures they also target community centres and recruitment fairs for potential candidates, as it is easy for some people to miss career opportunities if they donít know where to look.
The Government recently reported recordWith national unemployment levels of just 4.7% which shows tha the national employment rate standing at 74.9% - the highest since 1990* - t more people have returned to work for various reasons including improvements in health, more employment opportunities, change in social circumstance and the general want of work.
talent! believes there is a suitable job for everyone and ensures they also target community centres and recruitment fairs for potential candidates, as it is easy for some people to miss career opportunities if they donít know where to look.
Candidates who approach talent! will not only be given a very personal service to help them find a role and employer that meets their needs and expectations, they will also enjoy a great welcome from the mix of front line and higher level staff including branch managers and recruiters when crossing the threshold. talent! proves that recruiting a diverse workforce is a dynamic solution for businesses and public sector organisations alike.
The success of talent! has been widely acclaimed and highlighted as a national model of best practice. Nationally, more than over 50% of those placed into jobs are from ethnic minority groups and over 75% of all placements are residents who are not receiving help or active benefit support, but are unemployed and want help to find a job.
Penny Thomas, regional manager for talent! in the North East explains; ìWe are an intermediary which bridges the gap between employers and what the job seeker wants.î
For more information on talent! log onto www.talent.co.uk or at work log onto www.atwork.co.uk
Talent! proves diversity is more than skin deep
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