A new project to help women from ethnic minority backgrounds into - TopicsExpress

A new project to help women from ethnic minority backgrounds into work has been given £110,000 of government funding. The Women into Sustainable Employment scheme aims to improve language and workplace skills and is being piloted in Dundee and Glasgow. It is run by Bridges Programmes, which supports refugees, asylum seekers and others who do not speak English as a first language. If successful, the project could be extended across Scotland. The Scottish government said research suggested women from black and ethnic minority groups face many barriers to work and are under-represented in Scotlands labour market. Build confidence Minister for Youth and Womens Employment, Annabelle Ewing, said: This course is aimed at precisely that group of women and I am very pleased that the Scottish government is able to fund the programme in two of Scotlands cities to help improve their employability, including building up their confidence, sharpen their English language skills and experience the workplace itself. We hope that if successful, such an innovative approach to the provision of English for speakers of other languages can be rolled out across Scotland to allow many more to benefit in the future. We are committed both to strengthening the economy and reducing inequality in Scotland. Schemes such as Bridges will help us make progress on both fronts by helping a minority group take their rightful place in the workplace. Founder and director of the Bridges Programmes, Maggie Lennon, said We are delighted that the Scottish government is funding what we know to be a successful and practical way of getting black and minority ethnic women into work. The key to the approach is working closely with employers at every stage, to ensure that the training is relevant to their needs as well as the women, meaning work- placements are more successful which in turn can lead to more sustainable job outcomes. Once again we see Scottish employers taking a pro-active role in supporting people far from the workplace. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-30796459