enhanced skills training for ethnic minorities

A ground breaking scheme to attract people from Wales’ BME communities to forge careers in the contact centre industry has been launched.The ESTEEM project, an industry first, aims to encourage people from the black and minority ethnic communities to apply for the scores of vacancies available in South Wales’ dynamic contact centre sector.  

The unique, two year pilot project is targeted at but is not exclusive to the BME (black and minority ethnic) community across the southern arc of Cardiff including areas such as Butetown, Riverside, Grangetown and Adamsdown. Supported by the European Social Fund and managed by the Welsh Contact Centre Forum Ltd. (WCCF) the project offers week long e-skills accredited courses and two hour workshops. Course ‘graduates’ are guaranteed interviews for vacancies in a South Wales contact centre. A train the trainers programme will ensure that learning will remain in communities at the end of the pilot.

Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks Andrew Davies, helping launch the scheme last night (15 3 07), said: “The economic benefits of our excellent £400m-a-year contact centre industry, which employs some 24,000 people at 130 centres across Wales, owes much to the calibre of the people employed.

“The ESTEEM project will encourage more of these high calibre people from different backgrounds, especially from black and minority ethnic communities, to grasp the first class career opportunities that are readily available in the contact centre industry. “The Welsh Contact Centre Forum is to be congratulated on devising and bringing forward this unique scheme, which promises to deliver long term benefits to people in some of the most deserving communities in Wales.”

Sandra Busby, Managing Director of the Welsh Contact Centre Forum Ltd, said: “ESTEEM recognises the need within the contact centre industry to recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds in particular those from black and minority ethnic communities. “We look forward to being able to welcome a new wave of keen, enthusiastic and talented recruits to our dynamic and vibrant industry, people that truly reflect the multi cultural society in which we live in 21st century Wales.”

The ESTEEM project is being managed on behalf of the Forum by Christine Allen, from the Grangetown area of Cardiff. She said: “ESTEEM offers people a clear insight into what it is actually like to work in a contact centre and the kind of prospects and careers that are available, right now, in the industry.”

The pilot project consists of ten, two hour contact centre workshops giving candidates a taste of what it is like to work in the industry. The workshops will be followed by a series of week long, e-skills accredited, training courses in call handling and customer service at various venues.

Former BBC Director General, Greg Dyke, special guest at the launch event at BBC Wales Cardiff, spoke of the need to cast recruitment nets as wide as possible to ensure employers are able to recruit the correct calibre of skilled staff.

The Welsh Contact Centre Forum Ltd. is the employer led organisation which represents the interests of Wales’ £400m –a-year contact centre industry. The industry, which employs 18,000 people across south east Wales alone, has grown by 250% in the Cardiff area over the past decade.

For more details on the ESTEEM project and dates for training courses and taster sessions please contact Christine Allen on 0800 838067 or log on to www.welshcontactcentreforum.co.uk