Who'd be a public servant?

A one-day careers fair called "Creating The Future"

Despite a history of exclusion, minority graduates are showing new interest in public service jobs. But government agencies must adapt to harvest their skills and meet their concerns.

Until recently, the heart of British government in Whitehall had a reputation as a 'no go' area for minority ethnic citizens. Accusations of prejudice and exclusion were hurled at what many viewed as a 'privileged white gentlemen's club'.

Now, Whitehall is at the centre of an experiment to recruit Blacks and Asians as civil servants and thereby rebuild optimism in minority communities. Linbert Spencer, director of Diversity UK consultancy and first black advisor to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, is heavily involved in the transformation of the public face of the civil service. He leads a partnership of government agencies, British Telecom, the Ethnic Media publications group, and the Windsor Fellowship scheme "to raise the civil service profile in minority communities".

Creating the future
In an unexpected response, nearly two thousand minority ethnic graduates - armed with degrees and determination - descended upon Westminster Central Hall this summer to register their interest in shaping Britain's future governance. The unique occasion was the first-ever minority recruitment effort by government - a one-day careers fair called "Creating The Future".

Enthusiastic crowds gathered round the information stands of Britain's 20 top civil service departments. Graduates quizzed representatives about careers in home and foreign affairs, environment, trade and industry, and law, taxation, defence, education and employment. On stage, celebrities Trevor Phillips, the black candidate for mayor of London, and Zenab Badawui, the Sudanese-born TV broadcaster, hosted question and answer sessions.

Workplace diversity

Intense interest

The vigorous response was fuelled by the Labour Government's new workplace diversity and modernisation initiatives. The aim said Prime Minister Tony Blair in his greetings to the fair "is to ensure that the Civil Service attracts and recruits the best ethnic minority candidates...We must bring in new talent. And we must achieve greater diversity within the Civil Service so that it can meet the needs of our diverse society".

Not surprisingly, employed Black and Asian civil servants were featured as role models. James Kariuki heads the summit division of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Lee John-Charles of the Treasury Solicitor's Office, represents the Home Office in high-profile immigration cases and inquests of deaths in prison.

Keenness, attractiveness, adaptability and intelligence were displayed as virtues. Delaris Edwards combats fraud, and Karl Jagdis works on social exclusion, welfare reform and pensions issues for the Department of Social Security. "Ask Melody", said one brochure picturing a well-dressed black woman, "As a valued and respected Customs and Excise employee, she knows we're colour-blind".

Change is necessary
Government recruiters on the prowl for a new crop of talented minority graduates may be in for a shock, however. After several decades of "colour blind" or race-neutral hiring, the Civil Service has a chequered record. Service figures show that in London, where most head departments are based, there are less than 5 per cent minority ethnic staff drawn from a population of over 20 per cent.

Job mobility prospects are uncertain as well. Only 1.6 per cent of staff from ethnic minority communities are at the senior level. Promotion rates for ethnic minority civil servants are a third less than their white peers and most are `mired' in the lowest grades, said Sir Richard Wilson, Cabinet Secretary and Head of Home Civil Service, to the Guardian newspaper.

Figures like these are echoed in other government departments. In the Home Office, where the black London MP Paul Boateng is junior minister, official sources confirm only around 2 per cent of its senior staff are Black or Asian. The picture is little different in the Lord Chancellor's Office, served by under-secretary Keith Vaz MP, a founder member of the defunct Black Parliamentary Caucus.

Trevor Phillips and Dr Jack Cunningham

Companies are seeking talent too
Not surprisingly, government agencies face stiff competition from businesses for talented minority graduates. They are a rising 13 per cent of all UK graduates, Sir Herman Ouseley, chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, told the Independent on Sunday. Many Black and Asian graduates are pouring their energy and talent into industry, commerce, self-employment or family businesses. Especially attractive are companies that give positive value to the world languages and cultural perspectives that graduates bring to the marketplace.

Graduates at the careers fair urged a panel of government representatives to review their minority hiring practices and principles. Recruiters and personnel officers should aim to attract the best minority talent. Equality in assessments of candidates for entrance, retention and promotion must be the rule. Jobs should offer scope for versatility and initiative, with opportunities for individual study and on the job training, they told panellists including Baroness Symons of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Glenda Jackson MP of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, and minister to the cabinet Dr Jack Cunningham.

Focus on jobs
Admittedly, the careers fair was a first step in providing general information about opportunities in government. A follow-up event should be more rigorous in its intent. Organisers should be recruiting for actual job vacancies. Opportunities for "fast track" training and promotion to senior management should be made clear.

Studies show that interactive capacity building workshops, led by departmental and minority ethnic staff, can help sharpen the interview skills of graduates. Mock assessments, psychometric testing, careers advice and tutorials are useful techniques to build up the confidence and performance of job-seekers.

The Prime Minister's diversity goal for the civil service is clear: to increase the number of qualified applicants and senior staff from minority ethnic applicants. Making good this commitment will not be easy. Past equal opportunity campaigns have led to "huge amounts of paper" and "some improvement in our record", civil service head Sir Richard Wilson acknowledges. "What we want to see now is less paper and more results, real visible results, based not on tokenism but on merit and on recognising talent wherever it is found," he says.

A simple point, but worth remembering.