Workforce diversification

As today’s economy continues to grow and businesses expand into the international space, achieving workforce diversity is essential in the success of businesses. Diversifying the workforce has long been a corporate strategy of LCG’s and its success has had invaluable impacts on our business.?

Diversity in the workforce encompasses a wide scope of factors, which stretch beyond gender, ethnicity, and race. Religion, Culture, Sexual orientation, language, learning barriers, and skillset/ability are also fundamental in ensuring a diverse workforce.

We have been successful in diversifying our workforce so far, having been named Learning Provider of the Year at the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards for two years running and achieving a vast growth in areas of our EDI statistics since 2020 – but we are not stopping there. We wish to be the most diverse training provider in the UK.

Recruiting a diverse workforce

At LCG, we have a dedicated People Team who continuously collect and monitor diversity data within the business. We review this in each individual organisational area of the business to ensure areas for improvement are identified and put into an equality review. These are then considered in the organisational objectives to EDI.

LCG also strive to ensure that our organisational values and culture are highly relevant to our dedication to becoming the one of the most diverse employers and training providers in the UK. Conducting focus groups among staff is instrumental in this strategy.

We actively ensure we are present in diverse communities, exhibiting at PRIDE events, and winning Provider of the Year at the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards for the past two years. We’re also an armed forces covenant employer, ensuring we support service leavers and veterans when they leave the armed forces, and actively promote this.

Using diverse language and imagery on recrutiment advertising is also key to ensuring a diverse range of candidates apply for the positions you are trying to fill.

Diversifying your client base

Of course achieving such diversity lies with Recrutiment and their strategies to ensure a diverse range of applicants are considered and hired. Further to that, is the diversification of a business’s client base too. Within LCG, we regularly review EDI data of our learners, and we push to consistently ensure that a diverse range of learners are enrolled.?

LCG are keen supporters of the GlobalBridge platform, working closely with schools to inform young people of the alternative routes into further education after leave school. We destigmatise adult-learners within apprenticeships; promoting our courses as accessible to anybody who feels it’s right for them. To ensure we are getting it right, we engage with our partners and apprentices through surveys and focus groups directly seeking input from underrepresented groups. Apprenticeship vacancies are promoted through pop-up programmes in deprived areas, developing technical and soft skills setting them up for success in the jobs market. We then match learners to vacancies, giving newly skilled people opportunities. We ensure we are present in diverse communities, exhibiting at PRIDE events, and winning Provider of the Year at the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards for the past two years. We have recently launched learner masterclasses, providing additional learning resources to promote a positive community through discussion surrounding societal issues like EDI, gender, sexuality, culture, and age.

In short, we take the opportunities to as many people as possible, rather than waiting for people to come to us.

Diversifying the client base is the key to establishing authenticity in your EDI commitment claim. Not only this, but having a diverse customer base also allows your workforce to have the essential relatability with your customers and provides financial security, mitigating risk. Having a business heavily dependent on just one societal group means being reliant on one customer base, decreasing the opportunity for business success.

Celebrating employee differences

Celebrating employee differences is key to ensuring a diverse workforce. Whether it be holidays or beliefs, LCG aim to recognise every cultural nuance, even if it is not acknowledged by the government or fall under the Christian Calendar for example, to ensure all employees are positioned equal to their colleagues. We also encourage the education of differences amongst employees, hosting a series of interview-style videos called ‘Diverse Conversations’, where employees voluntarily take part to share their story with colleagues, sharing their backgrounds and cultures to lead educational opportunities. We have also made EDI training part of the onboarding process when new employees join the business, to create a collective understanding of the essential values at LCG and what will not be tolerated. Our People team have a cultural calendar to ensure they are aware of all events so when staff need time off, to perhaps celebrate their religion, they are able to do so. We have pronoun badges to ensure gender neutrality is celebrated and stock sanitary products in our unisex toilets. We strive to remove discomfort in discussion of differences, and our brand-new hormonal health policy allows for this. Managers are educated and aware of hormonal health issues, and how to tackle them to ensure the employee is as comfortable and supported as possible.

LCG provide a Level 2 online short course in Equality and Diversity. Having a workforce that is knowledgeable on equality and diversity in different contexts, allows a broadened understanding of the different issues affecting EDI in society today. This is an excellent insight into the wide-ranging legislation that’s needed to create a workplace centred on fairness, dignity, and respect. Enrol your HR professionals and wider workforce onto our L2 Equality and Diversity course here.?