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Positive Action Partnership: PATH National Ltd and London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

PATH National Ltd is a Skills Development Agency, which seeks to address the under-representation and inequalities of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups in management and professions. We give support to individuals and organisations wishing to create a workforce that reflects our diverse communities. We are funded by the Home Office - Communities and Local Government (CLG) and the London Development Agency (LDA). All projects are delivered under sections 37 & 38 of the Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment 2000) and other equalities legislation.

PATH National's focus is on assisting BME individuals in acquiring middle and senior management career positions. Our goals are pursued through innovative training, which encompass education and employment. We have been working in partnership with the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (LBBD) since 2002. There are 2 strands to the work we have done in improving under-representation, particularly in the Housing and Health department, but also council wide. It was assessed via borough ethnicity monitoring that there was a lack of BME estate officers, staff and managers within the Housing and Health Department in LBBD.

Traineeships - a 2 year on-the-job work placement coupled with weekly day release for academic study and personal development.

Management Development Programme - provision of Diploma in Management Studies (DMS) and Advanced Diploma in Management Studies (ADMS). Vocational courses run for one day every two weeks for one academic year.

The key to the success of this partnership is the relationship we have with LBBD, which has been due to the commitment of senior managers within the Housing and Health department. We started this positive action traineeship scheme with a cohort of 6 trainees in Estate officer roles. We then added to this with a further 3 trainees in 2004, in various housing positions and 1 trainee planner as part of PATH National's Tomorrow's Planners programme. We have recently completed recruiting for another four posts within the Housing and Health department who started their traineeships in August 2007.

The good news is that we have successful outcomes from the scheme - we have four ex-trainees in management positions. Arabi Iqbal, now a principle regeneration officer won 'Trainee of the Year' at the PATH National Awards in 2005. We also have one qualified building surveyor and two working in permanent positions at officer level within the council and doing well.

LBBD has had a group of students undertaking the management development programme each year since 2003. 28 in total over three years. Many of the original cohort have since acquired more confidence not only from the course, but also from the network of support gained through training with their peers in different departments. Many have been able to secure more senior roles within LBBD. A few examples are Theo Lamptey now Consumer Advice, team leader; Georgina Olaniyan progressed to project manager; Joanne Smith Lead Food Safety Officer; Raj Singaravelou senior IT consultant business partner; and many others.

Learn more...

Download our skills development programmes pdf (256kb)

Download our Tomorrow's Planners pdf (333kb)

You can also view Management Development Programme student testimonials.


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