Deeply held prejudices that steer many young women and ethnic minority individuals away from careers in transportation must urgently be tackled, Transport Minister Lord Ahmad told the CIHT Skills Summit this morning.

 

Lord Ahmad (pictured) said the sector needs to attract new recruits from “a better and bigger pool of talent” and to make sure that transport careers “appeal to a wider section of the next generation” if the challenge of delivering record levels of infrastructure investment are to be met.

 

“It is imperative this happens,” he remarked. “Without more women or representatives from a minority ethnic background we will not succeed. Diversity is not a token exercise, nor is it about political correctness – it is about fairness and attracting the best and brightest talent from all sectors of society.”

 

Diversity, he added, does not mean giving special treatment to women or ethnic minorities, but “creating a culture” that encourages everyone to progress in the world of work.

 

Lord Ahmad added that a diverse workforce will better reflect the customer base served. “It is frankly unacceptable to say that certain areas of our profession are not attractive for women. The onus falls on all of us to create an environment that ensures equality of opportunity.”

 

Transport binds together our society and is the backbone of our economy, he added. “Whether we are talking about walkways or runways, bicycles or planes: transport matters. We need to sell the value of engineering qualifications.”

 

He added that apprenticeships are still too often seen as the “poor partner” compared to engineering degrees and that if young people doesn’t go on to university they are perceived by some as a failure. “They are not, an apprenticeship is as valuable, sometimes more so. We have to make all routes open to all, go back to basics and into schools” he said, in order to instill in young people the notion that anything they want to achieve is possible.

 

Lord Ahmad’s address to delegates followed launch of a CIHT toolkit titled ‘Routes to Diversity & Inclusion’, a 56 page guide written to help employers recruit, retain and develop a diverse workforce.

 

“I’m so pleased and delighted to support the launch of today’s toolkit,” he said. “I cannot recommend it more highly.”

 

CIHT’s toolkit finds that 96% of its corporate partners expect future skills shortages and that more than a fifth recognise that the workplace culture in transportation can feel “unwelcoming to some people, such as women, disabled people and ethnic minorities”.

 

To read the CIHT ‘Routes to Diversity & Inclusion’ toolkit click here.

 

(Photo: Department for Transport)