British firm hopes to make manufacturing sector more attractive to women, minorities
A British training firm has launched a program to stamp out swearing, racist remarks and sexism in the workplace.
The program, designed by Kirkdale Industrial Training Services, is aimed at engineering and manufacturing firms. Its goal is to encourage more women and ethnic minorities to work in the manufacturing sector by promoting equality and diversity in the workforce.
The program will run for 12 months in the Yorkshire area and features posters outlining offensive behaviour, seminars and breakfast meetings.
Kirkdale said workshops are traditionally male-dominated and that swearing and racist and sexist language is all too common. It creates an environment that many women and ethnic minorities want to avoid at all cost. This means that many talented young people who would make great engineers and managers are turning their backs on the manufacturing sector, it said.
“Whilst a number of companies in the area are shining examples of how it should be done, we still have a great number who are sadly stuck in the past,” David Todhunter, chief executive of Kirkdale Industrial Training Services, told Leeds Today. “We have deliberately started the campaign in a light-hearted fashion but we hope the serious message comes through loud and clear. Equality and diversity matters and discrimination, whether deliberate or not, has no place in today’s workplace.”
The campaign is being supported by the Learning and Skills Council for West Yorkshire.
The program, designed by Kirkdale Industrial Training Services, is aimed at engineering and manufacturing firms. Its goal is to encourage more women and ethnic minorities to work in the manufacturing sector by promoting equality and diversity in the workforce.
The program will run for 12 months in the Yorkshire area and features posters outlining offensive behaviour, seminars and breakfast meetings.
Kirkdale said workshops are traditionally male-dominated and that swearing and racist and sexist language is all too common. It creates an environment that many women and ethnic minorities want to avoid at all cost. This means that many talented young people who would make great engineers and managers are turning their backs on the manufacturing sector, it said.
“Whilst a number of companies in the area are shining examples of how it should be done, we still have a great number who are sadly stuck in the past,” David Todhunter, chief executive of Kirkdale Industrial Training Services, told Leeds Today. “We have deliberately started the campaign in a light-hearted fashion but we hope the serious message comes through loud and clear. Equality and diversity matters and discrimination, whether deliberate or not, has no place in today’s workplace.”
The campaign is being supported by the Learning and Skills Council for West Yorkshire.
