Bury EST is facilitating the Employer Forum on Diversity. This network includes a wide range of companies operating in the Bury travel to work area. The group meets informally every 3 months for a breakfast meeting.

• EFD Terms of Reference

• EFD Membership

• EFD Workplan

• Schedule of events

• Minutes of meetings

There are two networks operating: the Stockport Employer Network and Bury's Employer Forum on Diversity.

A selection of employers covering sectors such as retail, leisure, transport, service and manufacturing industries have been invited to participate in the project over the next three years, actively working with officers from Bury EST to examine the current practices and policies of Human Resource Management.

The core work will be to pilot new and innovative methods of recruitment, selection and retention. Actively working with the recruitment teams of companies and organisations we will examine wider and varied opportunities for the recruitment of people from disadvantaged groups. The outcome will be to enable employers to recruit from a wider potential labour market within the community they share and serve.

The selection of suitable applicants for job vacancies is a very interesting area to be working with the human resource managers. This is an area where we believe our previous experiences, as an employment support service will be of tremendous value. During the years of representing people with disabilities and their employers certain barriers have been identified as counter productive to disadvantaged groups accessing employment.

We will share these experiences and in consultation and co-operation with the employers we will develop a new complimentary model of selection that will incorporate job trials as part of the interview and selection process. Preliminary enquiries have met with the approval of employers willing to assist us with these initiatives and we look forward to some very interesting outcomes.

An important area to develop in Embracing Diversity is integration in the workplace and the methods we can introduce with employers to assist them inform and instruct their workforce on disability and diversity awareness. The transfer of the successful supported employment model to organisations and their employees will be a huge step forward for everyone.

Bury Metropolitan Borough Council, Greater Manchester Police, Bury College, NHS Trusts and the Army are a sample of the large Public employers who are actively involved with the work of the Employer Forum on Diversity.

The Employer Forum welcomes interest from all employers and there is a shared view that efforts should be made to involve the small businesses. A close working relationship has been formed with the Bolton Bury Chamber of Commerce and the Business Links Service which will assist in raising awareness of the project amongst smaller employers.

Bury EST is also actively working with related agencies in the Borough such as the Children's Information Service, People Add the Competitive Edge (PACE, the human resource group), Work Life Balance and the Home Working service. All of these agencies offer the specialised assistance that employers require when issues arise in their people management policies.

Any Employers are invited to discuss their interest in the Embracing Diversity project by contacting the Bury EST Employer Consultant, Fred Bowen, on 0161 761 4662 or Email fred@buryest.org.uk or post your queries and comments on our feedback page.