Businesses
should use the ethnic media for recruitment in order to tap into a wider talent
pool, according to Trade and Industry secretary Patricia Hewitt.
Speaking
to British MEPs in Brussels, Hewitt said employers lose out on well-qualified
recruits from ethnic minorities if they only recruit through traditional
channels.
“This
represents an opportunity for managers seeking to recruit talent in their own
firms. So when a manager is considering placing a job advert in the national
press, they should think about advertising in the ethnic press as well,” she
said.
“Recruiters
should be asked to go the extra mile to make sure they are reaching out to
everybody.”
Hewitt
highlighted a recent Performance and Innovation Unit report, which finds that
UK productivity has suffered because many highly educated people from ethnic
backgrounds have poor employment prospects.
“We
do not recognise often enough what a source of competitive advantage we gain
from our social diversity,” she said.
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