Diverse solutions

The ECA, the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC) and JTL are to host a conference entitled 'Meeting the skills shortage with diversity' on 29 April.

To stimulate employers to attend, as an introduction I would like to whet your appetities with the issue of diversity rather than that of skills shortages. Just why should this perennial issue be tackled as urgently as those of the skills shortage, health and safety, bad payment and all those other issues on which the sector is working?

Firstly, what do you understand by diversity? Do you have an understanding? Does anyone? Or is the answer in itself and by its very nature diverse? The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines diversity as: "The condition of being diverse; difference, unlikeness." A brief definition, but one that gets to the heart of the matter.

I would wager that the majority of Electrical and Mechanical Contractor's readers are men. Furthermore, I would wager that they are white. Leaping from these two assumptions I would go further and bet that since the readers of Electrical and Mechanical Contractor are male and white, the majority of the industry's workforce is male and white. Not, I'm afraid, a scientific or statistically sound conclusion I accept, but one that I can be happy to put forward with another piece of evidence – the evidence of my own eyes.

However, turn those same eyes to the community in which we live and work and a number of facts are startlingly apparent, some universally so and some more to most urban contractors and an increasing number of rural ones too.

First, the population of the UK is not universally, nor even predominantly, male. Second, a 50:50 mix of males and females is pretty constant across both the UK and the age range of the population. Third, not everyone is white.

We have a diverse, not homogeneous, population in the UK. Here lies the discrepancy. We seem to have one thing on the supply side – ourselves and our businesses – and another on the demand side of our sector – our customers, the population.

Is this true, and if so, why? Is it important, if so what should and can we do about it? The second part of each of these questions is what the conference must answer since I believe that the answer to the first part of each question is an emphatic yes.

I look to the conference to articulate the importance of diversity and more importantly the business case for companies

Before elaborating on my reasoning in answering yes, it is important to add a couple of points to ensure that the breadth of the issue is made apparent. Diversity is not just about colour, race, sex or age. It isn't about discrimination, although discrimination might be an effect. Recall the definition above – it's about difference and unlikeness. Diversity covers all of these issues, from straightforward and obvious ones like those referred to above or sexuality, disability, nationality, accent, size and educational background.

Discrimination against some of these is against the law, discrimination against others is not; some are relevant in the workplace, again, some may not be. Discrimination in an economic sense, just because of diversity, is economic stupidity – irrespective of whether it is on the demand or supply side, in the workforce or in trading with customers.

Firm evidence that the sector's employers lack diversity in both their governance/ownership and employment is extraordinarily difficult to find; much is anecdotal or supposition. Take my statement about the readers of Electrical and Mechanical Contractor. A large part of the readership works for firms that are member companies of the ECA. How do I know this? Well because that is what the Editor tells me! The ECA represents businesses that carry out about 80% of the electrotechnical work done in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, although perhaps only 10% of vat-registered electrical contracting businesses. Maybe, therefore, the diversity that is seemingly missing in my analysis is evident amongst non-ECA companies.

Sadly not I'm afraid. Yes there are firms based in ethnic communities, indeed there are some that have women listed as their proprietor or contact. In the former category the proportion on a very quick analysis seems to show a slightly higher occurrence of ethnic minority sounding businesses, in the latter there is no appreciative difference.

So does a discrepancy exist? Yes. I can't prove it scientifically or statistically, but with the evidence of my own eyes it clearly does. Sometimes you know that something is there even if you can't prove it. Hopefully the conference speakers will have the evidence that will show, in no uncertain terms, that we are not a sector as diverse as our country.

JTL has managed the lion's share of the sector's apprentice training since its creation over ten years ago. It should be able to show – with statistical certainty – the number of women and individuals from ethnic minorities trained by the heart of the sector. Indeed it too will be able to demonstrate the make-up of our diverse population.