Research conducted by leading Engineering bodies show that people of black and minority ethnic origin (BME) are underrepresented in technical apprenticeships/courses and in the engineering profession (9%).

Our advisory and consultancy services include sharing our ideas and communicating examples of best practice in engineering education and recruitment, retention and progression of diverse talent. AFBE are actively researching and publishing papers on the demographics and destinations of BME individuals aiming to pursue careers in engineering and technology after graduating from university. With this we continually increase our knowledge and use this as a means of improving business practice.

Our Core Services

• Corporate Organisations: Whether you are a SME or global organisation with a local reach, we provide businesses with a wide range of diversity strategy solutions. We will tailor our services to suit your requirements. Through our hands on approach, we will help your business meet your targets by providing mentoring, training and support.
• Educational: We support schools, colleges and universities to enable their students to be prepared for a smooth transition to the engineering industry. We offer one to one sessions, group coaching sessions, targeted talks and workshops.
Our Approach
• We try to understand your needs carefully by mapping out what your current situation and future aspirations are.
• We develop a joint working agreement to ensure we can track and measure progress
• We assign a dedicated Account Manager so that you can continue the dialog and raise any concerns you have
• We identify small changes you can make to achieve tangible results and work with you to implement the agreed solutions.
Education and Learning Tools

We offer a number of educational and informative sessions including

Introduction to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (Duration: 1 hr)

Purpose is tailored for companies at the start of diversity journey: Covers the following:

• what diversity is and what it is not.
• Three key aspects: Talent attraction, (e.g., STEM outreach), Talent retention (employability and having inclusive work environment) and Career progression (ensuring that diversity is reflected at all levels within the organisation)

The Ethics of Ethnic Diversity (Duration: 1.5hrs)

In the Ethics of Ethnic Diversity session, we describe the Diversity and Inclusion landscape and define the place of race and ethnicity within that landscape. The nature of racism is also described through the lens of history. The session provides a summary of disparities within the engineering sector and tips for becoming an ally of Ethnic Diversity. It also outlines steps that organisations can take to become more equitable.

Equity of Ethnic Diversity (Duration: 1.5hrs)

The killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests brought into sharp focus the extent of racial disparity across all walks of society, and introduced less familiar concepts such as , allyship, anti-racism, and intersectionality. People have been learning about the realities and lived experience of many, and as they do, they are experiencing feelings of empathy. In this session we build on the ideas introduced in the Ethics of Ethnic Diversity Part 1 and draw from some successful working practices to discuss ways in which our companies can become more racially equitable.

Cultural competence and creating an inclusive workforce (Duration: 2hrs)

This session follows on from the Ethics of Ethnic Diversity. It outlines steps that companies can take in order to build a truly inclusive workplace. The themes captured include building a qualitative and quantitative baseline of the workforce; creating of safe spaces in which staff can air their concerns; further education about micro-aggression and micro-incivilities; creation a framework for equitable progression and diversifying the supply chain by embedding social value into contracts and inclusive leadership.

Understanding Barriers to Recruitment and Retention for Diverse Groups: (Duration: 1hr)

This includes case study exercises which we typically deliver in a workshop style to engage them in a discussion on diversity.

Allyship Workshop: From Apathy to Advocacy (Duration: 1.5hrs)

In this session, participants will learn the importance of allyship, the difference between a diversity champion and a diversity ally. They will learn about the allyship continuum. This workshop will include a number of case studies and role plays in which participants, given various scenarios are asked to discuss. The session will end with the development of allyship toolkit and a discussion of the global implication of allyship.

Organisations who have benefited from our services include;

University of Hertfordshire, Royal Academy of Engineering, MITIE, BITC, Royal Academy of Engineering's African Catalyst Project Statistical data for women in science and engineering amongst others.

To access our research and consultancy packages Contact us