- Cadent backs industry commitment for a more diverse workforce
- Company joins industry leaders to target recruitment at ‘under-represented groups’
- More women, people from black and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and the under 24s to be encouraged to join the energy and utility sector
Local gas network Cadent has put its name behind an industry campaign to recruit more women, more people from black and ethnic minority communities, more people with disabilities and more under 24-year-olds.
Cadent, which delivers gas to 11 million customers across the country via its underground network of pipes, is one of 32 leading energy and utilities employers who are launching a sector-wide ‘Inclusion Commitment’ today (11 February).
The employers are pledging to attract more diverse talent into the energy and utilities sector to better reflect the communities they serve and to fill an increasing skills gap. Women, people from black and ethnic communities, people with disabilities and the under 24s have traditionally been under-represented in the sector, compared with national averages.
Cadent has led the way in some areas. The company employs more people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds than the British industry average, with 18% staff describing themselves as from these backgrounds – increasing to 27% in the East Midlands - compared with 15% across UK business.
It is one of only a handful of British businesses to have a strategy to help people with learning needs and disabilities gain work. The company’s award-winning EmployAbility supported internship scheme has resulted in 73% of the scheme’s graduates landing jobs compared with national figures of just 6.8% of people with learning disabilities.
The company’s Spring Board and Spring Forward programmes are targeted at developing skills and opportunities for female staff. However, the company recognises that there is still much more to be done.
Chris Train OBE, Chief Executive of Cadent, said: “I am proud of the diverse workforce we have within Cadent. By being more inclusive and having a more diverse workforce, it gives us a better connection and understanding with the communities we work in and serve.
“Cadent is working hard to encourage women, people from black and ethnic minorities, those with disabilities and under 24s into the company and as well as the energy industry. By signing up to this Diversity and Inclusion commitment through the Energy and Utilities Skills Partnership, we are showing a united front to improve and to share best practice throughout the gas and energy industry.
“Within Cadent it is important that we continue to work to encourage and inspire a broader spectrum of people into our businesses; demonstrating the various opportunities they can have and long term prospects within Cadent and the important skills and perspective they can bring to the company.”
The Inclusion Commitment, developed by industry body the Energy and Utilities Skills Partnership, commits employers to come up with new ways to encourage people from under-represented groups to join the industry and encourages employers to work together and share best practice.
The energy and utilities sector employs around 566,000 people across the UK. It will need over 220,000 new recruits to fill its expected skills gap by 2027.
How Cadent compares:
Employees from black and ethnic minority communities
- Gas network sector = 8%
- All industries = 15%
- Cadent = 18% (increasing to 27% in the East Midlands)
Women
- Gas network sector = 23% female
- All industries = 47% female
- Cadent = 21% female
Under 24s
- Gas network sector = 6%
- All industries = 12%
- Cadent = 6.87%
Over 55s
- Gas network sector = 15% over 55
- All industries = 19% over 55
- Cadent = 15.6% over 55
The energy and utilities sector employs around 566,000 people across the UK. It will need over 220,000 new recruits to fill its expected skills gap by 2027.
Nick Ellins, Chief Executive, Energy & Utility Skills Group said: “Through the inaugural skills strategy, led by the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership, the UK’s utilities and their contractors have set out their ambition to enhance the diversity of their workforces and be ever more inclusive.
"This new commitment is a framework. It starts the collective action to help the sector workforce better mirror the communities it serves and secure the unquestionable benefits that result from having vibrant, truly inclusive and diverse teams.”