Achievement rates vary according to ethnic group and gender. Ethnicity represents a barrier to lifelong learning at a number of level, as illustrated by the following extracts from the report by David Owen, Anne Green, Jane Pitcher and Malcolm Maguire for DfEE (2000) on Minority ethnic participation in education, training and the labour market. Statistics on the educational achievement of ethnic minority groups reveal some striking trends.

Sub-group variations in participation in learning

• Ethnic groups vary in their propensity to participate in learning activities.

Targets and attainment levels

• People of working age from minority ethnic groups as a whole have slightly higher attainment rates than white people at both the top and bottom of the qualification range: NVQ Level 5 and below NVQ Level 2. However, they have lower attainment rates at NVQ levels 2,3 and 4.
• While overall qualification attainment by people from minority ethnic groups as a whole appears to match that of white people, there are distinct differences between minority ethnic groups, with the Pakistani/Bangladeshi group having significantly lower proportions attaining qualifications.

Representation of minority ethnic groups in higher education

• Overall, minority ethnic groups are comparatively well-represented in higher education. There is however, variation in the levels of participation amongst ethnic groups, and evidence of underparticipation particularly amongst Bangladeshi women, when compared to the participation rates of Bangladeshi men.

Age profile of the student population and qualifications on entry

• Black students are more likely than other groups to be mature students, whereas South Asian students are significantly younger than other groups.
• Black undergraduates are more likely to have ‘non-standard’ entry qualifications than other ethnic groups.

Type of higher education institution, mode and subject of study

• Black and South Asian students are particularly concentrated in the post-1992 ‘new’ universities, although South Asian  students are also relatively well-represented in older universities. Chinese and Other-Asian students are particularly well-represented in old universities.
• Black students are significantly more likely than other groups to study part-time, which may be one of the reasons for their concentration in ‘new’ universities, where part-time study is more prevalent.
• Black-African, Chinese and ‘Other’ men are more likely than other groups to study full-time for postgraduate qualifications.
• Computing science is a popular choice of undergraduate degree for men from minority ethnic groups, particularly those of Pakistani and Indian origin. Subjects allied to medicine are popular for women, particularly Black-African, Black-Caribbean and White women.

Labour market participation

• The percentage of the population of working age economically active is higher for white people than for minority ethnic groups.
• Black-Caribbean people display higher rates of economic activity than people from other minority ethnic groups. Pakistani and Bangladeshi women display extremely low economic activity rates.
• Economic activity rates are higher for men than women. In most ethnic groups, the economic activity rate for married women is higher than that for women who are not married.
• Economic activity rates are higher for people aged 25 to 44 than for younger and older people. Differences in participation rates between ethnic groups are least in this age group.

Employment, unemployment and earnings

• In general, men from minority ethnic groups are more likely to work in the service sector than white men. Bangladeshi and Chinese men in work are still highly concentrated in the distribution sector (which includes restaurants). Public sector services are a particularly important source of work for women from minority ethnic groups.
• Men from minority ethnic groups as a whole are less likely than white men to be in high status or skilled manual occupations, and are more likely to be semi-skilled manual workers. However, a higher than average percentage of Indian, Chinese, Other-Asian men are managers and administrators or professionals (Black-African men are also more likely than average to be in professional and associate professional occupations).
• The percentage in self-employment is highest for men from the Pakistani ethnic groups, and also higher than average for Indian, Chinese and Other-Asian men, but lower than average for men from Black ethnic groups.
• Minority unemployment rates are usually at least twice as high as those for white people, and highest for Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Black-African people. However, Indian and Chinese people tend to experience relatively low unemployment rates.
• Male earnings are highest for the white and lowest for the Bangladeshi ethnic group. Indian men earn more than Black men. Men from all ethnic groups have higher hourly wage rates in London than elsewhere. White women earn more than women from minority ethnic groups in London, but outside London, women from the Chinese and Other ethnic groups have the highest earnings. South Asian women earn less than Black women.

Participation in work-based training

• There has been an overall decline in the numbers participating on work-based training for adults (WBTA) in recent years, but a rise in the proportion of leavers going directly into jobs.
• Participants from minority ethnic groups tend to be concentrated in London and the West Midlands – reflecting the uneven regional distribution of minority ethnic groups in the population as a whole.

The experience of ethnic minorities on work-related training

• Both adults and young people from minority ethnic groups are less likely to achieve a 'positive outcome' (notably entry into paid employment) after participation in a work-based training programme than their white counterparts.
• The Black group experiences particular disadvantage in entering employment.
• The Asian group fares least well in terms of qualification attainment. However the gap is narrowing in 1998/99 similar proportions of Asian and White trainees left to go into a job.
• Non-white young people are less likely than their white peers to enter higher status training programmes such as Modern Apprenticeships.
• In subjective terms European Social Fund (ESF) programme participants from minority ethnic groups rated their experience of ESF-funded activities more highly than white participants, with projects playing an important role in building confidence.

Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market

According to a Cabinet Office Report on Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market (2003): 'members of some ethnic minority groups, such as Pakistanis, Black Caribbeans and Bangladeshis, have disproportionately poor skills and few qualifications. Moreover, there is overwhelming evidence that Black Caribbean and Pakistani groups are failing to close the gap between their educational attainment levels in schools and the White average' (2003: p51).

Highest qualification: ethnic group & gender

According to National Statistics information (2002) in 2001/02 people from some minority ethnic groups in the United Kingdom were more likely to have degrees (or equivalent) than White people. Most likely to have degrees were:

• Chinese people,
• Indians,
• Black Africans and
• Other Asians.

Despite some ethnic groups being more likely than the White population to have a degree, they were also more likely to have no qualifications at all. In particular Pakistanis and Bangladeshis were most likely to be unqualified. Nearly half (48 per cent) of Bangladeshi women and 40 per cent of Bangladeshi men had no qualifications. Among Pakistanis, 40 per cent of women and 27 per cent of men had no qualifications.

References:

• Cabinet Office (2003) Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market: Final Report, London: Strategy Unit.

• National Statistics (2002) Education - Ethnicity - Indian pupils have best GCSE results, On-line Information Nugget, published 12th December 2002.

• A Review of Black and Minority Ethnic Participation in Higher Education: A Summary Report for Conference, 21 June 2006