Built in or bolted on? - by Robert Bean
Building equity and diversity management into your core business

Social diversity is a fact of life.
Equity is a core Australian value.
The Australian vocational education and training system has made significant progress in responding to the diversity of learners, but it has traditionally done so with designated funding and dedicated staff, resulting in equity and diversity initiatives that are ‘bolted on’ to the core business of training providers.

The next great development challenge for the training industry is to ensure that consideration for equity and diversity is ‘built in’ to every critical function of training delivery, from program planning to performance measurement, by taking an integrated diversity management approach.

"But we already do that," say many training managers, referring to good track records in compliance with access and equity laws. However, compliance is only one element of managing differences and is essentially reactive.

Or they may say; "Diversity management isn’t even on the radar screens of the businesses in our client industries so why should we bother?

There are a number of good reasons to build diversity management into the core business of providing training.

Employers who recognise the importance of workforce cohesion increasingly look for staff with positive values and the behavioural skills essential for working in complex workplace and customer environments. (Marcus Egan’s article in the inaugural issue of Training Australia on the place of values in the Front Line Management diploma is a good case in point.)

State and national training authorities are calling for the training system to take a greater role in economic and social policy, contributing to social inclusiveness and a stronger knowledge economy.

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