SBT2258 Careermap Careermag Issue 15 v4 UPLOAD | Page 45

BAME APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Celebrating the talent and diversity among British BAME Apprentices Launched in 2016, the BAME Apprenticeship Awards (formerly known as the Asian Apprenticeship Awards) has now engaged with over 1000 apprentices from BAME backgrounds across the UK. BAME stands for stands for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic. In the last four years, the awards have created over 200 role models, who have been able to use their success as a platform to celebrate their achievements in their apprenticeship. The awards have also been instrumental in creating future leaders and ambassadors for apprenticeships highlighting key issues around the need for more diversity in the UK workforce. Winning employers have showcased their diversity and inclusion strategies and how it’s helped them to shape an inclusive and diverse work environment as best practice examples for other organisations to follow. Diversity and inclusion in the world of apprenticeships is all about people from all backgrounds having the same opportunities and support. It is about creating environments that support people from different backgrounds by dealing with specific needs, for instance: support with religious restrictions from clothing to social activity, or educational support for individuals whose socioeconomic background may have had an adverse effect on their learning. When researching diversity in apprenticeships, we found that there has been a lack of BAME leaders in apprenticeships. People from BAME backgrounds were not looking at apprenticeships positively because they couldn’t relate to them due to a lack of role models. Have a look at some of winners from BAME Apprenticeship Awards 2019! To get inspired, have a look at bameapprenticeshipawards.co.uk/ www.careermap.co.uk Careermag for School Leavers Issue 15 | 45