The fire service has different methods of trying to recruit a diverse workforce. To start with, they employ an ‘outreach worker’. This is an individual who is employed to ‘outreach’ to the community. They promote the fire service in minority communities and try to show them what the fire service has to offer. They try to persuade the minorities that the police force has something to offer them and that they should be applying.
Another method that the fire service has is an open door policy. You can knock on a fire station any time and there will be a friendly welcome for you. You can ask any questions about the job, look around the station, get a feel of what its like to work there, etc.
However… although these methods may well be in place, before a firefighter told me, I was unaware that there was such thing as an ‘outreach worker’ and was unaware of the open door policy. So how can they be successful in reaching the community when the community are unaware of them? They can’t.
Also, there may actually be a problem with the open door policy. Say an Asian woman knocks on the door of the fire station, and a white male answers. She may, at that time be greeted pleasantly. But then she walks through to the main room to see another 10, maybe 15 other white males, all gawping at her. She is obviously going to feel out of place and alienated. This will most probably not make her feel welcome and will possibly put her off the fire service for good and remove any intentions of ever applying.
The fire service is set targets by the government to achieve such a number of ethnic minorities and such a number of women etc. But no matter how hard the fire service tries… over 99% of the service are still white males. This, simply, is because the thought of going into a blazing fire, extinguishing flames, carrying out burnt, maybe even dead bodies, doesn’t appeal to anyone other than a white male.
In the governments eyes, the fire service aren’t meeting the targets set. Therefore, they have failed. But in the fire services eyes… the number of females and ethnic minorities has increased, even if it is slightly, so they see this as a success. People cannot be forced to do a job; all the fire service tries to do is to make it appealing to everyone. And if women and ethnic minorities do not feel it is an appealing career, they will not apply.