Many of you will have read or heard about the recent tragic and brutal killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other black lives in the USA, and the subsequent response from across the world to end racism once and for all with the Black Lives Matter protests. We all know racism is not just a problem in the USA, it is a problem worldwide.
We want to take this opportunity to reiterate that ALS deeply believe in fairness, equality and respect for all human lives. We have always taken the issue of inclusivity and diversity seriously and equality is at the heart of everything we do.
What we have in place
- Our initial recruitment, staff induction policies and on-going staff equality and diversity training promotes equality and inclusivity for all, across ALS and our partners.
- We address the subject of equality, inclusivity and diversity during visits to our work-based learners and within our RED handbook. This raises awareness and encourages open conversations about equality and diversity in the workplace.
- We have pledged allegiance to the Leadership and Diversity Scheme, which helps organisations to achieve an inclusive culture in which everyone receives fair and equal treatment, regardless of their background.
However, we must do more and we clearly recognise that we cannot be complacent. We can always do better, and as an educational training provider, we will.
What are we doing now?
There is a well-established relationship in Wales between poverty and ethnicity, as we see all too well when teaching and working with some of the most vulnerable learners in our society. With that in mind, we are;
- Reviewing our policies, training and monitoring programmes to ensure it includes the issues that have been raised through recent events, and that it is adequately dealing with discrimination in all its forms.
- Reaching out and seeking guidance from other organisations and using their knowledge and expertise to help us with this.
- Getting advice on how to improve the issues of diversity in the workplace.
- Using the information and data gathered from our own internal diversity audits, to improve on the work we are already doing to increase the diversity of our workforce.
- Looking into improving access to mentoring programmes that provide opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC)
- Introducing Diversity Champions within our organisations to promote diversity and inclusivity.
ALS are fully committed to the long-term work of challenging racism, and indeed all forms of discrimination, so that equality is achieved for all.
We have and always will be, in this together!
Directors, ALS