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Fire service fails ethnic staff test
WILTSHIRE Fire and Rescue Service is well below par when it comes to employing staff from ethnic minorities, latest figures show.
Fire Minister Parmjit Dhanda this week announced radical new measures to change the face of the fire service over the next 10 years and ensure it fully reflects the communities it serves.
Setting out a new national Equality and Diversity Strategy that includes the toughest ever recruitment targets for women and people from minority ethnic communities he said the Fire and Rescue Service has for far too long lagged behind the police, prison service and NHS.
Independent research shows that, nationally, just 3.2% of staff are from a minority ethnic background and just 3.1% of firefighters are women.
In Wiltshire, only 1.6% are from ethnic minorities while 3.4% of firefighters are women.
All 46 local fire and rescue services will now have a target to ensure that at least 15 per cent of new firefighting recruits are women and that the number of minority ethnic recruits overall reflects the local working population by 2013.
Mr Dhanda said: "People become firefighters because they want a rewarding career serving the local community and saving lives, but currently the service often fails to attract the talent and potential that women, gay people, and those from minority ethnic backgrounds have to offer.
"It is without doubt that a more representative Fire Service will improve the working environment and culture of the service."
2:59pm Wednesday 21st May 2008
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CommentPosted by: norville, westwilts on 3:53pm Wed 21 May 08
Why give someone a job for their colour, sex or sexual preferences rather than their ability to do the job well?
PC CRAP!!!
Why give someone a job for their colour, sex or sexual preferences rather than their ability to do the job well?
PC CRAP!!!
Posted by: norville, westwilts on 3:58pm Wed 21 May 08
Why give someone a job for their colour, sex or sexual preferences rather than their ability to do the job well?
PC CRAP!!!
Why give someone a job for their colour, sex or sexual preferences rather than their ability to do the job well?
PC CRAP!!!
Posted by: norville, westwilts on 4:02pm Wed 21 May 08
Why give someone a job for their colour, sex or sexual preferences rather than their ability to do the job well?
PC CRAP!!!
Why give someone a job for their colour, sex or sexual preferences rather than their ability to do the job well?
PC CRAP!!!
Posted by: Trowboy, Trowbridge on 4:18pm Wed 21 May 08
PC BULLSH*T. You employ someone because they are the best for the job. Does this mean that someone from an ethnic minority will be more likely to get a job in the fire service than someone who is white british, regardless of who is better at the job just to 'make up the numbers'?
PC BULLSH*T. You employ someone because they are the best for the job. Does this mean that someone from an ethnic minority will be more likely to get a job in the fire service than someone who is white british, regardless of who is better at the job just to 'make up the numbers'?
Posted by: Trowboy, Trowbridge on 4:21pm Wed 21 May 08
PC BULLSH*T. You employ someone because they are the best for the job. Does this mean that someone from an ethnic minority will be more likely to get a job in the fire service than someone who is white british, regardless of who is better at the job just to 'make up the numbers'?
PC BULLSH*T. You employ someone because they are the best for the job. Does this mean that someone from an ethnic minority will be more likely to get a job in the fire service than someone who is white british, regardless of who is better at the job just to 'make up the numbers'?
Posted by: Andy on 6:48pm Wed 21 May 08
How will having more gay, black, women firefighters make the service any better. Am I missing something here, shouldn't the fire brigade be recruiting the best person for the job regardless of their race, gender or sexuality.
Next thing the government will say there aren't enough black MP's in the BNP!
How will having more gay, black, women firefighters make the service any better. Am I missing something here, shouldn't the fire brigade be recruiting the best person for the job regardless of their race, gender or sexuality.
Next thing the government will say there aren't enough black MP's in the BNP!
Posted by: old jarge, beanacre on 6:52pm Wed 21 May 08
The PC Brigade forget that the folk in question might not WANT to join! In my years in the Army, for example, I only ever met one Jewish lad, and he was in the TA! It's not that the Army doesn't wanrt thme, they simply don't want to join. It may well be the same with the Fire Service.
The PC Brigade forget that the folk in question might not WANT to join! In my years in the Army, for example, I only ever met one Jewish lad, and he was in the TA! It's not that the Army doesn't wanrt thme, they simply don't want to join. It may well be the same with the Fire Service.
Posted by: cindy, darkest Corsham on 6:20am Thu 22 May 08
I suppose this has nothing to do with the "fire minister's" naame -Parmjit Dhanda ? Am I to believe we REALLY have a fire minister???
I suppose this has nothing to do with the "fire minister's" naame -Parmjit Dhanda ? Am I to believe we REALLY have a fire minister???
Posted by: Colin, B-On-A on 8:20am Thu 22 May 08
Recruitment reflects the local minority ethnic population by 2013, what a load of bull! So in Trowbridge do we have to have 40% Polish 48% British 5% Moroccon and 5% Afro-Carribean and 2% Asian/Oriental.
Absolute PC Bull*&!% gone mad.
Give the jobs to those best qualified, stop this positive descrimination, that probably got the minister his job !
Recruitment reflects the local minority ethnic population by 2013, what a load of bull! So in Trowbridge do we have to have 40% Polish 48% British 5% Moroccon and 5% Afro-Carribean and 2% Asian/Oriental.
Absolute PC Bull*&!% gone mad.
Give the jobs to those best qualified, stop this positive descrimination, that probably got the minister his job !
Posted by: Saimi, Warminster on 5:56pm Fri 23 May 08
[bold]old jarge[/bold] wrote: [italic]The PC Brigade forget that the folk in question might not WANT to join![/italic]
It would be interesting to see the statistics here, by this I mean just how many ethnic minorities apply for this job?
old jarge wrote:
The PC Brigade forget that the folk in question might not WANT to join!
It would be interesting to see the statistics here, by this I mean just how many ethnic minorities apply for this job?
Posted by: Necker, Trowbridge on 9:39pm Mon 26 May 08
The powers that be are just not listening.
They are blinded by some drive to 'multi-culturize' everything.
They operate at a level far above the people wishes and in a state of ignorance.
They operate outside common sense and against the grain of public opinion.
They cater to ideals that this country is sick to the back teeth of.
The tide is now turning, this is not what we the poeple want and, boy, are we letting this government and it's misguided ways know about it.
The time for this madness is coming to an end.
Please tell me it is...
The powers that be are just not listening.
They are blinded by some drive to 'multi-culturize' everything.
They operate at a level far above the people wishes and in a state of ignorance.
They operate outside common sense and against the grain of public opinion.
They cater to ideals that this country is sick to the back teeth of.
The tide is now turning, this is not what we the poeple want and, boy, are we letting this government and it's misguided ways know about it.
The time for this madness is coming to an end.
Please tell me it is...
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