Kutambua transforming BAME Youths

KUTAMBUA PARTNERSHIP TO TRANSFORM OUTCOMES

FOR BAME YOUTHS By Edrissa Touray

Kutambua has committed to take proactive action in countering the impact of Covid-19 in Reading by getting at least young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into employment within the next 12 months.

Kutambua, in partnership with Alliance for Cohesion & Racial Equality (ACRE) and Utulivu Women’s Group have joined hands in supporting BAME people into work. This project is being delivered in partnership with Nottingham based PATRA incorporating ACDA who have supported Black and Minority youths into training and employment for over 30 years. The Kutambua partnrship will provide opportunities to people of BAME heritage by enhancing their labour market competitiveness through training, skills development and work placements. They will use their joint experience and reputation for their effectiveness and success in transforming lives of individuals and communities.

The project will support at least 50 young people into employment by enhancing their access to work and skills through training and support with digital and soft skills. The project also partners with local employers in offering paid employment positions. It reinforces Kutambua’s positive action of combating the underrepresentation of Black and other ethnic minority groups, countering the impact of racism currently, and historic racial discrimination and disadvantages. This partnership is timely given the report published by Resolution Foundation that highlighted the worrying statistic that ‘around one-in-five young people, and

over one-in-five Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) workers, who have been furloughed during the lockdown have since lost their jobs’.

The young people will go through a traineeship programme to enhance their skills in, Business, Digital, Health and Social Care skills. In addition, they will have unfettered access to one-to-one work training and mentoring support by employability professionals to ensure they not only gain work experience but also benefit from on-the-job training to help them improve their networks and connections. As well as gaining the confidence necessary to get into meaningful employment. This programme is in line with all partner’s shared objective to support young people from marginalised backgrounds into financially competitive jobs. It further aligns with ACRE’s determination to remove all forms of disadvantage that impedes the BAME community from competing on an equal basis in the labour market. It serves as a tool for challenging the current underrepresentation of the BAME population in skilled and senior positions in the labour market. Kutambua’s philosophy of Positive Action, “a means

of combating the under-representation of Black and other ethnic minority groups and countering the impact of racism, racial discrimination and

racial disadvantage” underpins this partnership’s programme. The programme serves as a vehicle for social mobility by encouraging young BAME people to take advantage of opportunities across a range of skilled job sectors through access to employment, training, upskilling, and support opportunities. The programme partners are predominantly BAME led organisations who have also experienced difficulties in recruiting and accessing higher quality staff due to financial and other operational disadvantages. They are especially suitable for supporting the young people given their cultural understanding and can offer them appropriate support while improving their organisational operations and sustainability through tailored in-service training delivery for both the employers and the young people. This transformative partnership between Kutambua and PATRA aligns with the UK government’s Plan for Jobs initiative which aims to support young people into employment by building the skills they need through on-the-job coaching and training. For more information, email info@kutambua.com or visit www.kutambua.com/reading.