There are around 90,000 young men in London from Black and mixed ethnic groups. This represents around 18% or nearly 1 in 5 of all young men in London. Yet, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) statistics show young Black men face consistently lower employment rates than other young people, regardless of their qualification level.*
This is why Action for Race Equality is working hard with partners and employers to support young Black men, aged 16-24 into quality employment across London through our ground-breaking initiative Moving On Up.
On Friday 15th July, we joined forces with Newham’s Job Centre Plus as well as Moving on Up programme delivery partners, West Ham United Foundation, Elba and A New Direction, to invite 13 leading local employers to a jobs fair in Newham, with a view to the recruiting of the young Black men in attendance.
Amongst employers present were Whitbread, The Metropolitan Police and Morgan Sindall Construction. Many rewarding opportunities were showcased at the jobs fair, including:
- A fully funded police constable degree apprenticeship, with The Metropolitan Police, on an annual salary of £31,686
- A ten-week paid work experience opportunity, potentially leading to a paid apprenticeship with print and production company Paragon – the employer partner of West Ham United Foundation
- An apprentice bricklayer or an apprentice trainee site manager role with Morgan Sindall Construction
Left to right: Vibhav Haldankar Premier Inn Manager, Canary Wharf; Catherine Employer Adviser Manager at Newham’s Jobcentre Plus and Simone Casey Whitbread’s new openings manager
Speaking just after the event – which attracted over 40 young Black men – Simone Casey, who manages Whitbread’s hotel new openings, said:
In a few days we’ll be contacting seven young men we met at the jobs fair to set up interviews for roles at our new Premier Inn, in Canary Wharf. We’re interested in recruiting young Black men for duty manager roles at Premier Inn, which will be a good opportunity if they’re at college doing business studies and want to work around two days a week to learn the practical side of business.
Jeremy Crook OBE, Chief Executive of ARE said: “This much needed event gave employers an opportunity to introduce young Black men to quality London Living Wage opportunities. We look forward to finding out the impact this event has in the weeks and months to come.”
*In 2019, 33% of young Black men available and looking for work were unemployed compared to 15% for young White men. These unemployment disparities persist despite educational attainment, with Black graduate unemployment at 13 per cent compared to 4 per cent for White graduates.
Young Black men who are in employment, find they are more likely to be working in low paid, low opportunity jobs, and are underrepresented in industries which offer quality job and career opportunities, such as construction and digital technology sectors.
About Moving on Up
Moving on Up is an award-winning programme which aims to improve employment outcomes for young Black men aged 16-24 who live in London. Trust for London and City Bridge Trust fund the programme, and work in partnership with Action for Race Equality (ARE) who deliver it with stakeholders in Newham and Brent. The Newham stakeholders are West Ham United Foundation, A New Direction and Elba. Moving on Up won Community Partnership of the Year in the 2021 Employment Related Services Association.
For more information, contact Adeline Iziren, Communications Manager, Moving on Up: adeline@actionforracequality.org.uk or ring: 07950 255 389.