We believe that economic growth and racial equality in Scotland's workplaces are mutually reinforcing objectives. CRE Scotland is working with key partners to embed racial equality in economic development policy, enhance the economic performance of ethnic minorities in the labour market, and to improve the integration of new migrants to Scotland.

Key priorities

Using positive action to harness all of Scotland's talent

As a result of the Fresh Talent Initiative, the dispersal of asylum seekers and increasing migration from Eastern Europe, Scotland is becoming ever more diverse. The country's future prosperity depends upon our ability to bring more people from this widening resource into the workforce, and to make the most of their skills.

Evidence shows that companies with a diverse culture that encourages the mix and exchange of ideas are more likely to achieve strategic change and maintain long term financial performance. More than a third of those who settle here hold higher qualifications than the settled population yet more new migrants are working in lower paid or lower skills sectors of the economy today than in the mid-1990s.

CRE Scotland believes that Scotland's employers want to get the best person for the job but that they have had little practice in attracting and managing a diverse workforce.

In March 2006, we held a positive action seminar in Edinburgh which aimed to help employers to learn more about the legal framework and identify concrete actions they can take in order to ensure they eliminate racial inequality from the workplace. The seminar complemented the CRE's new code of practice on racial equality in employment, which came into force in April.

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