Originally Posted by
snapper41
A good friend of mine retired from the Fire Service recently after 30 years. For most of that time he says that the Service went through hoops to recruit more BAME firefighters, but no scheme was successful. The problem was that the Fire Service was not seen as a ‘good’ career, unlike doctor, lawyer, pharmacist etc. I suspect the same applies for the military - this is as much about the culture of certain communities as anything else. You can lead a horse to water…
I can tell you that is absolutely spot on. I had a (white, male) colleague manning (oops) a stand at a careers day in a West Yorkshire further education college. He attempted to engage with a group of young Asian females........extolling the virtues of a rewarding career in the fire service. He was somewhat incredulous that when he suggested said career, they looked at him as if he'd just dropped his guts. Another colleague had to explain to him, why they treated his suggestion with utter contempt. It's not your average white male who needs "enlightening"......it's those with some firmly held cultural beliefs.