Concerned about a lack of diversity in your organisation’s workforce?

In December 2022 the OU’s Careers and Employability Services launched a free badged course:  Diversity and inclusion in the workplace. 

If you’re concerned about a lack of diversity in your workplace or are interested in creating an inclusive culture but don’t have access to expertise, this free course will introduce you to the benefits and complexities of developing and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce. The course lasts 8 weeks, with approximately 3 hours’ study time each week that you can work through at your own pace.

ImageSource: Building a diverse and inclusive workplace | HR Solutions (hrsolutions-uk.com)

Full disclosure – in my current role as an Employer Engagement Manager for the OU’s Careers and Employability Services, I consider myself a woman of privilege. I am privileged to work for The Open University, privileged to work with amazing third sector partners and privileged to support the career aspirations of the largest and most diverse talent pool in the UK. I’ve worked for the OU for 29 years now, in student-facing roles and more latterly in Careers and Employability Services.  The OU is a very different place 29 years on, but the one constant has been our mission to provide educational opportunity and social justice to all. It’s something that informs our everyday work and drives us to do everything we can to work towards a more inclusive society that embraces the incredible diversity in our communities and the strength represented by different perspectives coming together.

Over the past few years in the Employer Engagement team, I’ve also seen significant change. Increasingly, the organisations we work with appreciate that diversity and inclusivity is not a problem to be solved. It’s a real opportunity to increase productivity, staff well-being and can stimulate more innovative thinking and wellbeing within their organisations.

Considering how we might support this work and help us more fully understand the current landscape; we recently surveyed a range of organisations we work with to ask about their challenges, benefits, and initiatives to improve diversity and inclusivity within their organisations. The insights from this survey helped inform the content and advice included in the course.  We were also delighted to incorporate the voice of some of the employers that responded to the survey within the course.

Alongside this valuable Badged Open Course, did you know that the OU can help support your recruitment of volunteers and paid roles via our free online vacancy platform OpportunityHub? 

This is a great opportunity to tap into one of the UK’s largest, most diverse, and employable sources of talent. The team loves to hear from organisations of any size or location.

For more information about how we can work together to help you create a diverse and more inclusive workplace, email the team.

27th March 2023