PATRICIA HEWITT CALLS ON BUSINESS TO USE ETHNIC MEDIA FOR RECRUITMENT SUCCESS
(19 June 2002)

Business managers should be using the ethnic media more to help tap into the talent that exists within the UK's ethnic minorities, Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt said today in a speech on UK labour markets.

Ms Hewitt was speaking to British MEPs in Brussels.

She said: "We do not recognise often enough what a source of competitive advantage we gain from our social diversity. Many of our best firms already recognise the advantages of a diverse workforce, but many do not and are losing out as a result."

Ms Hewitt highlighted the conclusions of a recent Performance and Innovation Unit report. It said the high education profiles yet poor employment prospects of some ethnic minority groups has lead to a substantial loss in productivity with implications for the whole economy.

She said: "This represents an opportunity for managers seeking to recruit talent in their own firms. So when a manager is considering placing a job advert in the national press, they should think about advertising in the ethnic press as well."

"Recruiters should be asked to go the extra mile to make sure they are reaching out to everybody."

Pointing to the wider economic benefits of the UK's social diversity Ms Hewitt added:

"Our second and third generation Asian and African Caribbean British business professionals have ties of family, culture and language that boost our trade with Africa, the Indian sub-continent, South East Asia and other parts of world.

"The extraordinarily cosmopolitan nature of London, in particular, helps to attract investment and business from all over the world. And of course we benefit from the skilled migrants who want to come and work in an English-speaking business environment."

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