£1 million project aiming to break down barriers to jobs for young ethnic minority people in Walsall

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker with A'isha Khan, CEO at Aaina Community Hub. PIC: WMCA
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


A new fund to help young Bangladeshi and Pakistani people break down barriers to unemployment has been set up in Walsall. A partnership of Walsall-based organisations, led by Aaina Community Hub, has joined the Youth Futures Foundation's Connected Futures programme.

A grant of £1 million has been awarded to increase employment rate for young people aged 16-24 with Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage, by increasing access to skills and training. Youth Futures Foundation’s seven-figure investment follows a £100,000 grant into Aaina from the West Midlands Combined Authority, in support of the region’s Race Equalities Taskforce.

The Taskforce and WMCA are looking to support this partnership between Aaina and Youth Futures Foundation, helping to connect young people from racialised communities to employment and training opportunities. The partnership follows the publication of a report in March 2024 by Youth Futures Foundation which revealed that half of young people (48 per cent) from an ethnic minority background face discrimination in the workplace.

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Aaina will work alongside Iqra Supplementary School, which provides activities for Pakistani and Bangladeshi young people aged 5 to 24 from low-income families in South and Central Walsall. A'isha Khan, CEO at Aaina Community Hub, said: "We are excited to be working with Youth Futures to deliver a groundbreaking project investigating systematic issues impacting Pakistani and Bangladeshi youth securing meaningful and progressive employment.

"We will be challenging the status quo in local industry and will facilitate dialogue between stakeholders and young people to identify viable solutions that lead to lasting change in recruitment and progression within employment."

Barry Fletcher, CEO at Youth Futures Foundation, said: "Aaina was set up to address the structural barriers faced by those from ethnic minority groups back in 1997. Sadly, thanks to research such as our Discrimination at Work report, it is evident that many of these barriers still exist.

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"We are excited to work with Aaina to enable it to continue to deliver for young people from ethnic minorities and transform their employment opportunities."

And West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said: "Reducing youth unemployment in our region is one of my top priorities as Mayor and a key focus of my Youth Plan. I’m committed to ensuring every young person has the best possible start in life, no matter their background.

"It’s great to hear how the investment from the Youth Futures Foundation will help the Aaina Community Hub support young people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds in Walsall to achieve their full potential."

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