Google, Ernst & Young and EDF Energy to help tackle ethnic minority youth unemployment

Race for Opportunity (RfO) has launched a search for a Youth Advisory Panel to help to tackle youth unemployment amongst ethnic minorities.

Over 125 top UK employers are seeking young people of Black, Asian and minority ethnicities (BAME) to advise on improving recruitment. These include Ernst & Young, Barclays Capital, EDF Energy, Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd, Shell UK and Transport for London.

Unemployment levels are disproportionately higher amongst young BAME people than for young white people, with 31.4% of those from minority backgrounds unemployed, compared to just 21.1% of white youths.

RfO, the race equality campaign from Business in the Community, is one of the Prince’s Charities and is working with top employers to form an advisory board. The board will be formed of 12 young people and will sit for one year, commencing in October 2012.

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Each successful panel member will receive direct mentoring support from business leaders and a guaranteed paid work experience placement with an RfO employer. Other partners include Nationwide Building society, Northern trust and Pertemps Recruitment.

Adrian Joseph, Director of Searh Advertising, Northern & Central Europe at Google and Chair of Race for Opportunity Leadership Team, says: “Current recruitment rates for the UK’s young BAME population must improve today to ensure that the employment gap doesn’t continue to widen.”