Where can my business go for help in getting the most out of demographic change in Birmingham?
There are a number of organisations active within Birmingham and the UK as a whole who can help you in making your business more diverse. Many have online resources with easily accessible information. Take a few minutes to view the profiles listed below, which includes contact details and web links to each organisation - you may find some advice that will help your business make the most out of demographic change in the city.
Acas
Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is an independent, publicly funded organisation which aims to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. They provide up-to-date information, independent advice and high quality training. They also work with employers and employees to solve problems and improve performance.
Acas advisers work with employers and their employees to improve behaviour and relationships, to make sure procedures and processes are in place and working well, and to agree any training needed to make the workplace work better.
Acas have published guides on equality in relation to religion, belief, age and ethnicity, which can all assist your business in making the most of demographic change in Birmingham. These can be found at http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=337.
Acas have also produced a ‘model workplace’ guide, which sets out a range of factors which can make your business more successful. It can provide you with a yardstick against which you can measure the effectiveness of your employment relationships and can help you to identify areas for development.
Acas provides a confidential telephone advice service called Equality Direct which has been especially designed for small businesses to offer help on managing issues such as race, age, sex, disability and other equality issues. The number is:
08456 00 34 44
Calls are charged at local rate and the service is open Monday to Friday, 0900 - 1630.
If you would like to find out more about how Acas can help your business, call their West Midlands branch on 0121 456 5434, or call the Acas Helpline (08457 47 47 47), which is available to answer your employment questions in one confidential phone call. Details of the training, advice booklets and e-resources that Acas also provide are available at www.acas.org.uk.
Age Positive
Age Positive are a team working in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in Sheffield and London who are responsible for strategy and policies to support people making decisions about working and retirement. The Age Positive campaign promotes the benefits of employing a mixed-age workforce that includes older and younger people. They encourage employers to make decisions about recruitment, training and retention that do not discriminate against individuals because of their age.
Age Positive have organised publications, research, press, events and awards initiatives to help employers prepare for the Employment Equality (Age) regulations. Their website www.agepositive.gov.uk provides case studies and advice on flexible working and good practice for businesses.
If you would like to find out more about how Age Positive can assist your business, please email agepositive@dwp.gsi.gov.uk or write to:
Age Positive Team
Department for Work and Pensions
Room W8d
Moorfoot
Sheffield S1 4PQ
Age Busters
Agebusters is a website designed and created by TAEN (The Age and Employment Network) and funded by the Department for Trade and Industry as part of its ‘age capacity building’ project. The site offers a valuable first port-of-call for anyone wishing to know about the UK’s Age Discrimination Regulations, including tailored advice to employers.
The site can be found at www.agebusters.org.uk.
DiverCity
Birmingham Professional DiverCity is a not-for-profit organisation set up in partnership with the Birmingham and Solihull Learning and Skills Council and Birmingham Forward, with support from Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Advantage West Midlands. The organisations remit is to support firms in the Professional, Financial and Business Support Services Sector and develop a pro-active approach to managing and valuing race equality and diversity.
Once clients have taken a business pledge, Birmingham Professional DiverCity’s aim is to support employers in adopting and maintaining "good practice" race diversity activity. They can assist and support a business by:
Offering support in developing diversity policies and statements;
Review its recruitment and selection processes;
Assisting in communicating a business’ diversity commitment to staff, customers, clients, investors and potential investors;
Providing a diagnostic of existing diversity practices;
Enable a business to action-plan improvements and make specific changes in support of the bottom line business benefits of managing and valuing race diversity;
Supporting a business in gaining a better understanding of a diverse customer/client base;
Recognising improvements and achievements through case studying good practice in the business and professional services sector (a business will benefit with a raised profile and associated media coverage in business and community publications);
Quality assure ongoing good practice through the Professional DiverCity Award;
If you would like to find out more about how Birmingham Professional DiverCity can help your business take advantage of demographic change in Birmingham, please visit telephone 0121 222 4115 or visit their website, www.birminghamdivercity.co.uk.
b:RAP
b:RAP is a Birmingham based independent voluntary strategic equality development agency. It offers a number of services to businesses to improve understanding and response to issues of inequality and to promote diversity within the workplace. These include:
Advisory and partnership work in policy and service delivery;
Leadership, organisational and staff development;
Research and consultation;
Seminars and learning events;
Publications and briefing papers for business including Equality Speak, What The Dictionary Doesn’t Tell You and The Busy Employer’s Guide to Equalities.
If you would like to find out more about how b:RAP can assist your business, please call 0121 456 7400, email brap@brap.org.uk or visit the b:RAP website at www.brap.org.uk.
CIPD
The CIPD is a membership organisation for Human Resource professionals and individuals with an interest in people management issues.
CIPD offers a number of online resources from its website, www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/dvsequl/general , which includes practical advice, guidance, tools, surveys, research and reports with regards to assisting businesses with diversity issues within the workplace. CIPD also offer a number of courses and qualifications for individuals.
Individuals from businesses can join the CIPD as affiliate members, which offers access to the Institute’s resources. Membership costs for 2006/07 consists of a £113 admission fee in addition to a £113 subscription fee. The subscription fee is renewed on July 1st. Subscription is reduced to £57 if a member joins between January and April.
Contact details:
Tel: 020 8612 6200
Email: cipd@cipd.co.uk
Employers Forum on Age
The Employers Forum on Age (EFA) is an independent network of leading employers who recognise the value of an age diverse workforce. In addition to supporting employers, the EFA campaigns for real, practical change in issues such as flexible retirement and the forthcoming age discrimination legislation.
The EFA was one of the first employer-led initiatives to promote the benefits of a mixed-age workforce and to pledge to make age discrimination in the workplace a thing of the past. It was founded in 1996 by 18 of the UK's top employers. The EFA offers a broad range of advice, which provides organisations with help in shaping age diversity policies and practices and preparing their organisation for age discrimination laws, which will have a significant impact on employment. This can be accessed from their website, www.efa.org.uk.
Fair Cities, Birmingham
Fair Cities Birmingham is a Government initiative with a clear business focus. Led by chief executives from Birmingham’s biggest employers, it is backed by Government and aims to deliver companies with job ready candidates from across Birmingham’s diverse and disadvantaged communities.
The vision for Fair Cities Birmingham is for employers to make a real difference by driving improved employability and so increasing the volume and quality of employment. Fair Cities has pioneered this demand-led approach in Birmingham and works with employers to design custom-built employment and training programmes around their specific hiring requirements to ensure a supply of job ready candidates.
The overall aim of Fair Cities Birmingham is to influence 18,500 jobs by 2010. The way by which this will be done is through:
Increasing the number of disadvantaged ethnic minority residents who gain steady work and new careers;
Meeting employer demand for job ready candidates;
Encouraging fair and effective employer recruitment and promotion practices and;
Increasing the responsiveness of the employment and skills system to business and ethnic minority needs.
If you would like to get in touch with Fair Cities, please contact:
Rita Patel
Employer Engagement Director
Fair Cities Birmingham
43 Temple Row
Birmingham
B2 5LS
Tel: 0121 237 6001
E-mail: info@faircities.net
Race for Opportunity
Race for Opportunity (RfO) is a growing network of private and public sector organisations working across the UK to promote the business case for race and diversity. Race for Opportunity challenges organisations to underpin strategies with concrete actions, guaranteeing a positive impact on business performance.
Since its formation ten years ago, RfO has tracked the development of race diversity on the business agenda, the development of appropriate HR practice and the impact of race on company profits. The agenda is set by business leaders who are committed to action on race.
RfO works with affiliated organisations across 4 key areas of business activity which demonstrate the business case for working on race:
Employment, including recruitment, selection, progression and retention.
Marketing to ethnic minorities as profitable consumers.
Engaging ethnic minority businesses in their supplier chain and as business partners.
Diversity-proofing community involvement activities and initiatives to ensure inclusion of ethnic minority individuals and communities.
The business case for race is a critical plank of the campaign, based on national and regional demographic information about the current and emerging workforce.
If you would like to find out more about how Race for Opportunity can help your business, please visit the RfO website www.bitc.org.uk/programmes/programme_directory/race_for_opportunity/index.html.
taen
The Age and Employment Network
The Age and Employment Network is an independent charity operating through a team based in London and a group of regional consultants. It was established in 1998 and was formerly known as Third Age Employment Network.
TAEN is a network of 250 member organisations that hold a wealth experience on age and employment issues across the UK and act as a centre of expertise on everything to do with age and employment: public policy, good practice, research, trends, and who is doing what across the country.
TAEN can offer your business:
Signposting to relevant organisations, partners, publications and websites.
Advice on recruitment, development and retention of workers of all ages.
Understanding of Age Legislation.
Case studies of individual experiences.
Consultancy and project work.
TAEN plays a leading role in promoting understanding and awareness of the impact of demographic change.
TAEN works with employers and recruitment agencies operating age-neutral policies. They provide a signposting service, directing you to relevant organisations and partners and can help your business and your clients to understand and respond to the challenges of age in the workplace.
TAEN has also developed a series of guides covering all key areas of the Employment Equality (Age) legislation, including its scope, exemptions, recruitment, the workplace, training, redundancy, retirement, pensions, comparators and dealing with a case of discrimination.
TAEN offers an online resource from its website at http://www.taen.org.uk
If you would like to learn more about how TAEN can help your business, please telephone 020 7843 1590 or email taen@helptheaged.org.uk.
MWI
West Midlands Mature Workforce Initiative.
Uniquely in the West Midlands, a number of organisations have come together to form the Mature Workforce Initiative partnership. MWI is committed to delivering a platform for debate and a campaign for action on the ageing workforce that will enable employers and others to integrate new HR practices, challenge ageist stereotyping and evidence the potential for business benefits. In so doing, compliance with the new Age Regulations will become a positive action toward workforce planning and development.
MWI is promoting the “Coming of Age” campaign through the Ambassador Corps. Business experienced ambassadors will be available to run employer alert sessions on age and employment issues for small groups anywhere in the area.
If you would like to learn more about how the West Midlands MWI can help your business, please contact Andrew Finnie by email at finniea@aol.com.