The placement scheme opening doors for ethnic minority people in London’s built environment

The 15-month work experience scheme places recruits across the built environment sector. While the majority of the candidates are recent graduates, the programme has also had career-changers and those who have worked in the sector, albeit in junior roles who were looking to progress.

First cohort

Ms Atallah was selected and became one of the first cohort of the new programme in 2022. She joined the Emerging Talent Programme and undertook three placements at housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley, developer Socius and Camden Council. She now works as a design advisor at planning authority Ebbsfleet Development Corporation.

For Ms Atallah, the placements allowed her to explore different paths in the built environment. “I knew what was important to me and what I was passionate about, but I didn’t know what the job title was,” she says. She did not think her background impacted her ability to secure a job, but she did notice the lack of diversity.

“I think from an access point, there was a barrier there,” she explains.

For Nicola Mathers, chief executive of Future of London, the problem does not sit with a shortage of talent, but with the organisations.

“Routes into the sector need to be more diverse – there’s still too much reliance on personal networks or overly competitive graduate schemes that can disadvantage people from different backgrounds,” she explains.

Ms Mathers says that the team at Future of London thought long and hard about the recruitment process, timing, support offered, what questions they asked and the language they used, with candidates saying they could complete the application form in a way that was true to themselves.

Nithushan Rajaratnam, a candidate from the current ongoing second cohort, says had the programme not come about, he would not have known how to start his journey into the sector.

Mr Rajaratnam, from Kingston upon Thames, is currently on a placement at Westminster City Council as a development manager. He is working on Ebury Bridge – one of the council’s flagship regeneration projects – despite not studying or having direct experience in the built environment field, something that the programme helped him with.

Initially, starting from scratch worried him. Mr Rajaratnam graduated from the University of Sussex after gaining a degree in criminology, but started to lean towards social research in urban studies. He then undertook a 12-month internship as a community researcher for a social enterprise, where he worked on a research project for an estate regeneration in Barnet.

“This is where I realised a new interest in urban developments and the transformative potential from design and planning.”

He says it was evident early on that the Emerging Talent Programme was designed for those that had a passion and interest for working in the sector. The fact that his peers came from similar ethnic and cultural backgrounds was also a plus point. 

“It’s another layer of assurance that you get from having peers from different backgrounds. I think some things we struggle with are to do with coming into a sector that’s traditionally not been very diverse,” he says. “That support from one another is such a fundamental thing.”

As part of the programme, each person is paired with a mentor, and they meet once a month. Mr Rajaratnam says this is one of the strengths of the programme. “He’s been a lifeline for me, especially starting in an industry where I didn’t know the corporate ways of working; he’s given me personal advice on those soft skills.”

Being part of the group also allowed him to establish a network, as well as contributing to a shared experience. “Even though we’re going through the same process, we are on different placements in different areas of the built environment. We’re all contributing to one vision of London’s built environment, which is always motivating when you do get together,” he says.

Being part of a cohort of people also from ethnic minority backgrounds was a highlight for Ms Atallah, who says it gave her a confidence boost and allowed her to be herself more. “I’m a Muslim, and there were a few other Muslims on the cohort. You feel less intimidated in the built environment [sector] when it comes to things like fasting in Ramadan, for example, or having to find a prayer space, or how to navigate alcohol-centred events. We can all relate to the experience,” she explains.