- National Apprenticeship Week 2024 (5 – 11 February 2024)
- 33% of Gen Zs were satisfied with their employer's DEI initiatives and 52% of ethnic minority Gen Zs reported feeling persistent stress and anxiety in the workplace
Mahogany Inclusion Partners, DEI specialist consultancy works with the Arena Racing Company (ARC), under the recommendation of the Stephen Lawrence Day foundation (SLDF) to help strengthen their Apprenticeship diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Mahogany Inclusion Partners have effectively collaborated on a new approach to recruiting apprentices. The strategy sets a new industry standard for hiring, nurturing and retaining apprentices from underserved communities.
ARC’s Apprenticeship Recruitment Programme was supplemented by two workshops that focused on inclusive hiring training and skills to develop inclusive cultures. These sessions emphasised the importance of considering values alignment, motivation, and soft skills like communication and teamwork in the assessment of young apprentices, who are often entering the professional workforce for the first time.
Mahogany Inclusion Partners recommends organisations who want to build sustainable and robust apprenticeships should consider the following:
- Inclusive Leadership training to ensure leadership alignment in advancing diversity and inclusion. A mutual understanding of DEI values should be shared across leadership teams.
- Inclusive recruitment training to review current process and support decision makers to consider the importance of ‘values alignment’ vs experience and skill competence, which is often absent for apprentices starting their careers.
- Focused education and awareness for the whole organisation to foster an environment where different backgrounds value the importance of speaking up, resulting in everyone feeling free to be themselves.
The collaboration addresses the urgent need for robust DEI efforts, highlighted in Deloitte's Gen Z and Millennial Survey 2023. According to the survey, only 33% of Gen Zs were satisfied with their employer's DEI initiatives, and 52% of ethnic minority Gen Zs reported persistent stress and anxiety in the workplace.
Aggie Mutuma, CEO of Mahogany Inclusion Partners says: “Our contribution to this initiative centers on ensuring leadership teams and their workforce have the knowledge and tools to establish a workplace where apprentices feel valued and confident. Organisations must make a concerted effort to understand what it means to be an ‘inclusive leader, whilst constantly learning about ‘conscious inclusion’ and creating a speak-up culture.”
As part of their ongoing support, Mahogany Inclusion Partners will continue to work with ARC, focusing on the retention of apprentices through workshops and follow-up sessions.
Jayne Greenman, HR Director at Arena Racing Company, said: “The partnership is another positive step in achieving ARC's D&I ambitions.
Jess Neil, CEO of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, said: “The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation exists to inspire a more equitable and inclusive society for young people from marginalised backgrounds. The collective power of collaboration in the journey towards equity cannot be understated, so to have the support of the racing industry, through esteemed partners like Arena Racing Company and The Racing Pathway, in delivering this vision, is as powerful as it is transformative. Stephen’s legacy serves as a reminder that when we uplift young people from marginalised communities, we are not just opening doors for them, but enriching the very spaces they step into. It's this shared belief — that our institutions, industries, and societies are infinitely better with diverse perspectives at the centre— that fuels our collective drive. Together, we are not only empowering young people from marginalised communities but ensuring a brighter, more equitable future for us all.”
