Patrick Johnson who chairs the organisations’ joint race equality working group says: We are helping more and

Patrick Johnson, who chairs the organisations’ joint race equality working group, says: “We are helping more and more organisations to overcome the problem, and the good news is that they are learning not just from us, but from each other. For example, many employers are finding out from others about how best to implement work experience programmes specifically for ethnic minorities. The financial sector, as well as the public sector, has been particularly proactive.”There is a clear business case for improving ethnic diversity in graduate recruitment – something that a growing number of employers are recognising, he explains. Above all, it allows companies to tap into a wider talent pool.

Ethnic minorities make up 8 per cent of the UK population and by 2009 they will account for half the growth in the working age population. Diversity at graduate level also leads to customers’ needs being better catered for. Lloyds TSB is just one organisation whose diversity programme has seen both customer service and sales improve.”Globalisation is relevant too,” says Sandra Kerr, national director for Race for Opportunity (RfO). “Many companies in other countries will no longer even come to the table unless they know they’ll be dealing with a diverse team.”In fact, reveals RfO, a staggering 78 per cent of organisations now have a clear business case for race – more than double the figure for 2001. Moreover, 43 per cent are already reporting a measurable impact on their bottom line and 65 per cent say that their work on diversity is good for brand reputation. “Business leaders who fail to recognise the business case for racial diversity are likely to suffer commercially and in terms of bad reputation,” says Kerr, who adds that the public sector has an official duty to focus on ethnic diversity in recruitment.One of the ways that graduate employers are achieving this is through working exclusively with recruitment agencies that produce diversity shortlists, says Kerr. “The second thing that is becoming common practice is training in cultural awareness for all staff involved in graduate recruitment.”Some employers are also targeting specific universities and courses with high proportions of ethnic minorities.

“This involves organisations going to do presentations to students about their commitment to diversity, and has been shown to have a clear impact on applications,” she says.Kerr also points to the growth in internship programmes specifically for ethnic minorities. “This works well because it gives participants a better positioning when they apply for a job,” she says.RfO agrees that financial employers are currently leading the way – both in the public and private sectors. Indeed, an initiative to tackle the under-representation of ethnic minorities in the local government finance sector has been hailed a success, with almost half the new recruits coming from ethnic minorities. Rob Whiteman, executive director for resources at Lewisham Borough Council, says: “We set out to attract graduates to work in public finance departments across London, with a specific focus on recruiting graduates from ethnic minorities. We are very pleased to have met our objectives.”Meanwhile, in the private sector, Lloyds TSB is a top performer. Consider Linklaters and The Sutton Trust, who earlier this year announced their three-year sponsorship deal of the Global Graduates “Young Graduates for Lawyers” scheme. This unique programme encourages talented A-level students from a variety of non-traditional backgrounds to realise their ambitions of pursuing a career in law.