To Think that Grad & Apprenticeships are now only for Diversity Candidates

[reallyreallycrazy]

Slight hyperbole but not far off.

Yes, of course I suppose my DS should be appreciative of his 'white privilege' (I do detest the term though), but he's been applying to over 100 x spring & summer internships and apprenticeships.

Invariably, he finds that lots of programmes are only open to black/female/social mobility/ND candidates. In one recent case - a global consultancy - there were NO openings for anyone outside of these categories.

And today, on LinkedIn, he forwarded me several links from leading banks reaching out about apprenticeships etc. In most photos, you might be lucky to spot 1-2 white males and in the video of one, there were not a single white male (or female for that matter).

I get that these firms need to do outreach to disadvantaged groups but if you look at the population level percentage of the various group categories, this really has swung too far the other way.

I get that many of these organisations have years to catch up with diversity hires but to try to rebalance in such an aggressive way and in a short space of time, makes it very difficult for young, white males (unless they have qualified for 'free school meals') to get a foot in the door which is especially tough in an incredibly tough grad market as it is.

For another example, the new president of the royal college of physicians is female. She is vocal about the representation of women in leadership in medicine. Quite right too, you might say… but she was taking over from a woman.

In another medical leadership panel, there were four posts. Two were reserved for ethnic minorities and one for female candidates. So if you are a white man, you can only apply to one. It’s absolutely bonkers.

The vast majority of NHS CEOs are white males. Ambulance services in particular have a long way to go.

I was going to say the same thing.

there is a significant issue that white boys/young men are constantly being told they are the problem with society, it’s why the likes of Andrew Tate have grown in such prominence. It’s also feeding through to the rise of the far right and the growing levels of racism.

I don’t know what the solution is, but equally denying that there is a growing issue isnt going to help anyone.

It’s depends. What is a medical leadership panel? It’s presumably not a job, but an advisory or guidance board?

In which case, who would suffer from two less white males? Only the white males who want the role. Who would benefit from more representation, in terms of the panels impact? Arguably everyone who isn’t a white male.

I went to Oxbridge. Lots of candidates with straight As (before A*s) from my cohort weren't getting onto these internships when I was at university. It was nothing to do with them being white males (in fact many weren't). It's always been ridiculously competitive and there have always been candidates with top grades and even masters who haven't gotten places.

It's nothing to do with diversity hires.

This is a good insight.

If getting good grades, participation in community stuff, volunteering, etc. are not relevant for securing future opportunities, what should white boys being doing to show they are worthy of a chance?

I did, how do you think they would prove I wasn’t bisexual? Even “mixed race” is pretty ambiguous and could mean half British half polish. The definition is in the eye of the beholder.

Anyway MAYBE it was just a coincidence I finally got a job after I started lying despite having a non existent cv. Maybe

We recently had an email from a white male candidate who was unsuccessful in our recruitment process. He complained that he had been a victim of our "woke diversity hiring" practices. I'm not sure what gave him that impression, unless it was the fact that we do blind shortlisting. But he got through to the interview stage regardless, so I can't really see why he would have had an issue with that.

The successful candidate was in fact an Asian female, but that had fuck all to do with any non-existent diversity targets and everything to do with the fact that she was by far the stronger candidate.

This guy was just another entitled white male who assumed that he should be given a job despite the fact that he didn't demonstrate any aptitude for it. He would do better to focus on addressing his own weaknesses instead of railing against the unfairness of it all. Ironically, his email merely confirmed to us that he was totally unemployable.

Our local council always state BAME candidates will be prioritised. I've seen that in CS jobs too. The jobs ads used to explicitly state that, they are a little more measured nowadays but the intent is still there.Some remain explicit like the Bank of England 'Black Future Leaders Sponsorship Programme'.
As well as two tier justice the government and local government operate two tier recruitment.

🙄 rude.

My two white children both have a clean sweep of A*s. They also competed in elite level sport. White people aren’t dullards.

@Codyrhodesisaheel
Thank you. So many supposedly 'lefty' posters on here who haven't got a clue about the most disadvantaged in our society. As you rightly say it is feeding the rhetoric of the far right.
Something tells me that these 'lefties' won't be campaigning for better educational opportunities for poor white boys.
Sorry, Wes Streeting, I know you feel that this group is deserving of more support.

It’s nothing to do with wither they can prove it or not. It’s because you don’t get jobs for just being bisexual so this information wouldn’t make you any better at the selection process and the fact that at the level you’re talking about no one gives a crap about diversity hires

UK is becoming more and more diverse and less and less white. In 20 years it will be like 50:50 or even more? So it might not necessarily be a diversity policy working here, just the statistics.

If your son doesn't qualify under the "social mobility" category he probably doesn't need the kind of internship being offered. Traditionally people with parents with money have the advantage of being able to work for low or no wages, whereas others without this opportunity won't be able to access certain kinds of careers or work experiences. If these are paid internships that are for people from a more disadvantaged socio-economic background, they exist to give some young people opportunities they otherwise would not have.

Try JP Morgan Chase. The white, privately educated kid whose parents live next door to me is currently on the degree apprenticeship.

LOVE THIS! 👏 👏 👏

Sure whatever, they just ask for “monitoring purposes” I’m open to it being a big fat coincidence although after countless rejections while being honest about being straight and white it was a pretty big coincidence.

My contribution to the thread is for anyone in the ops son’s situation to just lie, be the mixed race gay man, they can’t prove you’re not. This is sadly the world we live in and we must adapt hate the game not the player 👌🏻

My son is white and got an internship at an investment bank before graduating two years ago. Since then he's worked in finance/banking in the city at more than one place and gets contacted quite frequently on LinkedIn, it doesn't seem to have been an issue for him.

But if in "diversity" you include ethnic background, disadvantage markers, ND then actually I would think 20% of the population might well come under it, so it would be representative?

Internships are about getting some experience and insight into the career you want. Employers should be even handed in their selection processes. Working at the local cafe isn’t the same.

It’s certainly been the case in some areas of work (law) that the tiny number of apprenticeships are being used to boost the disadvantaged employee stats for those companies. However the standard jobs are open to all. However the jobs are ludicrously competitive! These openings are being manipulated to boost the diversity stats - no doubt about it!

Why should more than one of them be a white man though?

Rude - or racist? FWIW, not many people of any hue get 4 A*s.

I think this is very true. I work in London in a white collar job. The office is naturally diverse, and if you hire the candidates reflect the local population which is diverse. You’d have an impossible task to build a high performing team, especially in more junior roles, out of just white males. It would restrict your choice too much.

The sooner they quit categorising everyone and quit asking intrusive information about race, gender snd sexuality, the better. This stuff creates grievances. I am not a Trump fan. I think his election was in part a backlash against EDI.

Is he also working class though? Those are the white boys that are left behind

There’s a big difference between London and the uk in general tbh