Equal-Works

Background

Ethnic minorities make up 2% of Scotland's population, but the unemployment rates are disproportionate. It is also evident that self-employment is the dominant form of employment for Scotland's ethnic minorities. There is a demand for a highly skilled workforce, and the needs of ethnic minorities who suffer discrimination in accessing employment must be met. There is ample evidence from The Scottish Executive, Cabinet Office Report, The Ethnic Minorities and Labour Market Project, The Home Office Race Equality Unit and Employment and Race directives of the need to take measures to break down barriers and support ethnic minorities into training, employment and enterprise in Scotland.    

Aim

To offer minority ethnic people a ‘one stop shop’ for advice, information and services to transform their lives and to help create a better-informed, diverse and equal society in Scotland. The aim of this dynamic hub is to break down barriers and bring together all people and organisations involved in Scotland’s Black Minority Ethnic Communities, and to empower these communities by providing quick and easy access to news and information, jobs, and training, equality resources and so on.  

Objectives

• To tackle patterns of discrimination and equality in the labour market.
• To research the fairness of employers' recruitment and selection processes.
• To increase employers' understanding of the economic and social reasons for race equality in employment.
• To provide employers with practical support to develop and implement effective race equality policies and procedures.
• To engage with ethnic minority service providers.
• To develop inclusive practice in providing services and products to minority communities.
• To provide access to training and employment for ethnic minority communities.
• To develop mainstream employment opportunities for ethnic minorities in specific sectors.
• To promote entrepreneurial activity in new sectors by focusing on the six principles that underpin the Equal programme.
• To contribute to the positive portrayal of ethnic minority communities and to highlight their skills and contribution to Scotland.
• To improving ethnic minority employability by supporting vocational skills development and appropriate training needs.
• To working in partnership with a wide range of employers and policy makers to promote and create opportunities to support the professional skills development of ethnic minorities.

Target groups

BME communities across Scotland. 

The DP was formed from five organisations representing the interests of BME communities who came together to put in a joint bid, and created EMPOWER to run the Round One DP. The vision was to create an organisation that serves the needs of all BME communities together, enabling a joint approach to advisory work which is often done in isolation and in local areas only. Empower Scotland has been continuing that work in the second round of the Equal programme.

To identify and remove barriers to ethnic minority employment with a view to bringing about sustainable changes to policy and attitudes.