Action needed to improve equal opportunities in training

Citation

(2001), "Action needed to improve equal opportunities in training", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 33 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2001.03733bab.003

Action needed to improve equal opportunities in training

Action needed to improve equal opportunities in training

Keywords: Equal opportunities, Training

Inspections of work-based learning by Training Standards Council (TSC) inspectors reveal an uneven picture of equal opportunities practice in the workplace. Promoting Equal Opportunities, a TSC report, shows that the strategies formed by many providers of training avoid inequality rather than positively promote equality.

The principle of equality of opportunity is generally supported by training providers, but as long as understanding is confined to complying with contracts and meeting statutory requirements, opportunities for increasing inclusion in training and employment are being lost.

Many providers are under the misconception that an open-door policy for recruitment automatically leads to equality of opportunity. To many training staff, trainees and employers, "equal opportunities" often means no more than issues of gender and ethnicity. People who lack social skills, for example, or those who have mild behavioural difficulties are frequently barred from employment unnecessarily.

"Many people who choose work-based training do so because they are not well served by formal education", said David Sherlock, TSC chief inspector. "Among them are people who lack basic skills and people who are discriminated against but who have much to offer in a technological society. For example, the report notes that women and people from ethnic minorities often have difficulty in finding jobs in motor-vehicle maintenance".

While greater effort is needed in producing promotional materials that address the whole range of potential clients, publicity alone is not always enough. Forward-thinking training providers who have taken positive action to forge links with local community groups have been able to recruit trainees who reflect the population they serve. Equality of opportunity is better in London than it is elsewhere, reflecting the energy with which the London Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) have addressed the issue.

Funds that are available from TECs to support equal opportunities initiatives are underused, often because training providers do not know they exist. Additional funding can be used effectively to widen participation in training among under-represented groups, as providers who have called on the European Social Fund and the Single Regeneration Budget have proved.

"Extending equality of opportunity is among the greatest challenges which providers of non-institutional learning face, if they are to take their full share of the growth planned by the government", added David Sherlock. "They must show that work-based learning transforms lives".