While the tech industry is rapidly becoming one of the leading sectors in bolstering the UK economy, technology innovation is now developing faster than its workforce. Despite the increased demand to find candidates to fill roles, black professionals remain vastly under-represented and underutilised within this sector.
When grouped as one category, the STEM workforce has a comparable share of Black, Asian and racially minoritised workers to the rest of the UK workforce (12%). However, when the data is looked at more granularly, Black workers in the UK are still lagging behind at 2% in engineering, technology, science and maths compared to 3% in the rest of the UK workforce.*
Programme Director, Olu Orugboh, said: "As Black talent is so under-represented in STEM, we are calling on the big tech companies to partner with us to redress the balance. Our Programme will identify and explore the seen and unseen barriers for Black talent to access roles and progress. We will look closely at each stage of the career path of Black professionals, including recruitment and talent acquisition, career development and progression to senior roles.”
Olu Orugboh added: “The Black Talent and Leadership Programme will make it easier for companies to attract, retain, empower and grow this talent within the sector whilst addressing the urgent need for digital skills.”
Research has found that companies that are diverse and inclusive in their hiring practices are more innovative, better equipped to respond to unexpected challenges, discover and meet the needs of different customer bases, and more productive.
To find out more and register interest becoming a tech partner visit: https://www.blacktalentleadership.com/
For further details, image requests or interview opportunities with Programme Director, Olu Orugboh, please contact: sophie.clarke@cambridgewireless.co.uk