The Black Talent and Leadership Programme has launched its ‘Be the Change Initiative’ at Homerton College, University of Cambridge. The initiative has been created to address the underrepresentation of Black talent in STEM and will work with businesses to create effective strategies to attract, retain and develop Black talent in the UK.
This cross-industry initiative is delivered in collaboration with Cambridge Wireless, Homerton Changemakers, University of Cambridge, 10,000 Interns Foundation and Synergy Solutions. Among the first companies to participate in the Black Talent and Leadership Programme are: Amazon, Anglian Water, Arm, Cisco, Engage Transform, Google, Innovate UK, Malone Souliers, Marshall Wolfe, Motorsport UK, PwC UK, Samsung Cambridge (SCSC) and TTP plc.
Olu Orugboh, Programme Director, said: “We’ve had an incredible wave of support from companies across the tech sector who are keen to join us on our mission to attract, retain and promote Black Talent in STEM. Businesses who sign up for our 12-month programme will receive a raft of expert knowledge, including compelling case-studies, and will be equipped with a best practice toolkit and templates to apply to their recruitment and retention processes.”
Olu Orugboh continued: “Working collaboratively across the tech sector will be key to our success in bringing about change. Our regular consortium meetings will offer an invaluable platform for information sharing and will help foster a range of new working relationships across business.”
The first consortium meeting, held at Homerton College, focused on ‘Effective Recruitment Strategies’ for attracting Black talent. The event was opened by Lord Simon Woolley, Principal of Homerton College and Founder of Operation Black Vote, with guest speaker Alistair Antoine, Director of People and Communities at Cisco.
The next consortium meeting, to be held in the New Year, will focus on understanding and dismantling the systemic barriers that impede the retention of Black talent.
Also, new for 2024, will be the launch of the ‘Building Changemakers Programme for Young Black Talent in STEM.’ This 10-week programme will focus on providing young graduates and undergraduates from underserved Black communities with workplace opportunities in STEM. They will also receive training to equip them with the skills and support to become empowered leaders and make a positive change for themselves, their employer and the society in which they live.
To find out more about The Black Talent and Leadership Programme, visit: www.blacktalentleadership.com
