Black and Minority Ethnic Linked Work & Training Programme
Key contact: Calum Guthrie – SCVO
Fiona Craig – Linked work & training trust central
Address: SCVO, Floor 3, Centrum Building, 38 Queen Street, Glasgow
LWTTC, Suite 14, Willow House, Newhouse Business Park,
Grangemouth
Telephone no: Calum Guthrie 0141 221 0030
Fiona Craig 01324 489 666
Email: calum.guthrie@scvo.org.uk
Web address: www.scvo.org.uk
Project in a nutshell
The Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Linked Work & Training Programme is a pilot project between Linked Work and Training Trust Central (LWTTC) and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO).
The LWTTC model supports unemployed people living in disadvantaged communities in Falkirk and Clackmannanshire to undertake a work-based degree in community learning and development awarded by the University of Glasgow. The BME Linked Work and Training Programme adapts this model for black and minority ethnic people employed in social economy organisations. The aim is to promote regeneration skills and practice development; promote community learning and development skills and practice; and enhance educational attainment and career progression.
The issues addressed
This programme was set up to address the following issues:
• Labour market disadvantage amongst BME people.
• Education and skills gaps including institutional and structural barriers to accessing all levels of education services. Statistics also show that BME people are under represented within the Scottish education workforce at all levels.
• Access to employment opportunities.
• Discrimination in the workplace.
Evidence of success
The programme is still underway with an initial evaluation planned in 2006. The model on which it is based – the Linked Work and Training Programme – has been evaluated and has had a high level of impact and success.
All 11 participants who joined the programme in October 2004 are still with the project.
Setting up the project
This programme was set up as a pilot project between LWTTC and SCVO. The LWTTC model supports unemployed people living in disadvantaged communities in Falkirk and Clackmannanshire to undertake a work-based degree in Community Learning and Development awarded by the University of Glasgow.
LWTTC and SCVO were keen to adapt the model to look at other communities and groups of people experiencing disadvantage, discrimination and under-representation in community learning and development. The aim was to highlight and disseminate any lessons from this approach for regeneration policy and practice.
Initial approaches for support were made to funders and stakeholder organisations with an interest in regeneration, labour market and employability programmes and equalities issues. This included Communities Scotland. It took around 18 months to access the funding package.
Partnerships
This project is a partnership between a local training organisation, LWTTC which has developed an innovative programme of workplace training, and the SCVO.
LWTTC delivers the three year workplace learning and training programme which leads to the award of a degree in Community Learning and Development.
SCVO’s role is to disseminate lessons learned from developing and delivering this programme and its implications for regeneration, employability and equalities policy and practice.
The University of Glasgow awards the degree in Community Learning and Development and the programme participants are matriculated students.
Communities Scotland, ESF Objective 3, the Lankelly Trust and the Hugh Fraser Foundation are funding the programme.
A number of other organisations are also involved in a project Advisory Group including Communities Scotland, Learning Link Scotland, Glasgow Anti-Racist Alliance and the Scottish Trades Union Congress.
Learning points
The most complex aspect of the programme has been accessing and managing the wide range of funding required to deliver the project. Each funder has different reporting and monitoring and evaluation criteria and systems. In addition payment schedules differ.
So far the programme has identified a number of issues:
• BME workers often end up working in the field of race equality despite often being extremely well qualified in other disciplines. Positive action approaches are one way to provide BME workers (and workers from other excluded groups) with routes into specialist and generic posts working on issues outwith race equality.
• Participating in work-based study leading to a degree level qualification while working and managing family commitments requires a significant level of motivation from students. This can act as a barrier to recruiting and retaining participants.
• Releasing employees for participation in this programme requires a significant level of commitment from employing organisations. This can act as a barrier to recruiting and retaining participants
• There are number of positive action approaches operating in Scotland. Any future programmes should build on experiences of specialist organisations and projects such as PATH (Scotland) (www.pathscotland.org.uk) and Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living
• Partnerships between organisations delivering common outputs need to be actively managed and based on trust, flexibility and clarity of roles and responsibilities.
