London Metropolitan University, Haringey London Borough Council
Abstract
Haringey Council is developing ‘Opportunity Haringey’ – an inclusive economic framework. The aim is to shape and drive forward the Council’s ambitions for a local economy that moves from reacting and responding to the challenges of the pandemic to a pro-active partnership approach that unlocks the creativity of residents and businesses to harness Haringey’s strengths to secure economic prosperity for all that is fairer and greener. Opportunity Haringey is being developed by undertaking economic analysis and engaging and listening to businesses, residents and a range of local and strategic partners in order to understand the range of needs, demands and aspirations across the many diverse communities in the borough.
The Haringey Employment Gap research project, a key part of Opportunity Haringey, was carried out during 2023 by London Metropolitan University in partnership with Haringey Council. The project is part of London Met Lab Empowering London initiative, which aims to engage the University with its community partners.
The aim of the project is to identify those groups in Haringey who experience the highest levels of unemployment and to highlight the barriers they face in accessing jobs. It is well known that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic residents, people with disabilities, young people and lone parents experience higher levels of unemployment and this research project seeks to identify which particular groups are most affected and what the main barriers are in accessing work.
The research project looks at how well existing employment advisory services in Haringey support Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic residents, residents with disabilities, lone parents and young people to get into work.
This Summary Report sets out the key findings and recommendations from the Haringey Employment Gap research project. It should be noted that while there are key differences in terms of the barriers to accessing work experienced by the different target groups in this research, such as race discrimination and discrimination against people with disabilities, there are also many common barriers that are experienced across all the target groups. Some of the key common barriers include low expectations and confidence to attain meaningful employment, poor experiences of employment support services, particularly of the Job Centres and for many women with children, especially single parents, unaffordable chilcare