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About one in 10 of the staff employed by social services departments in the UK is black or from an ethnic minority. As you progress up the career structure, however, the proportion of staff from ethnic minorities begins to dwindle. Those who break through to the higher tiers of management are few and far between, and those who make it to the very top can be counted on the fingers of one hand. There is currently one black director of social services, Daphne Obang at Bracknell Forest. Just one out of 187 social services departments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

For the past three years a programme run jointly by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and the Social Services Inspectorate has been seeking to redress this balance. Born out of the Horizons mentoring scheme, set up in 2000 by former Association of Directors of Social Services president Roy Taylor, the career development programme for managers from ethnic minorities is aimed at those who have reached assistant director or head of service level. Every director of social services in the country has been invited to nominate one or two black managers to attend the programme.

Managed by the IDeA's principal consultant Carmelita Charles, the nine-month programme has seen a gradual change in emphasis since its inception. Initially it concentrated mainly on the management techniques needed to succeed at the highest level. Increasingly, however, the focus has shifted towards career development skills and the political nous needed to survive the selection process for high-profile posts.

"What we found was that managers from ethnic minorities at this level actually tend to be more qualified than their white counterparts," says Charles. "So they don't need any more training in management theory."

They also tend to be more experienced, with heads of service from ethnic minorities staying in post an average of eight years before moving on. This compares with just four years for their white counterparts.

"Managers from ethnic minorities reach a certain point and then their careers tend to stagnate," says Charles. The situation then becomes self-perpetuating as potential employers begin to question the reasons behind their applicant's slow career progression. "We had one participant who applied nine times before he got an assistant director's post. That's eight rejections."

To address these issues, three of the programme's four residential modules now focus on personal and career development, change management and on how managers can be sure they are applying for the right jobs, in the right way, at the right time.

Dealing with the political sensitivities of the selection process is also covered in detail. "Most managers from ethnic minorities don't have enough experience dealing with elected members," says Charles. "This can put them at a disadvantage when facing selection panels."

Local councillors are therefore invited to address those on the programme and offer guidance on what they are looking for when making high profile appointments.

All participants in the programme undergo an intensive initial appraisal using a "360 degree diagnostic tool" called Integration. This offers the managers feedback from their own self-assessment, their boss, their peers and through direct reports. The aim is to give the participants tangible evidence of their strengths, and of the areas they need to work on.

One of the most successful parts of the programme is the opportunity to receive coaching or mentoring from those who have already climbed the slippery pole of social services senior management.

According to Hertfordshire's director of adult care services, Caroline Tapster, this opportunity for managers to address work-related problems in a secure environment, away from their own workplace, can be extremely valuable. "It is an opportunity to work through boundaries and view things from a different perspective and insight," says Tapster, who has been a mentor on the programme for three years.

Of course, the true test of the IDeA/SSI programme will come over the next few years when its graduates, hopefully, begin to make their mark on the higher levels of social services management structure. However, Charles acknowledges that much of this success is beyond the control of the programme itself. No amount of career progression training or managerial expertise will help black and minority ethnic managers if social services departments continue to ignore their talents.

For social services management to truly reflect the ethnic make-up of its staff, councils will need to look at their own recruitment and retention policies. "Organisations should say to themselves 'we need to look at this in a meaningful way'," says Charles. "Why is it that managers from ethnic minorities often need to leave the council for the private or voluntary sector in order to progress their careers? In five years' time I'd like to look back at the people who have been through the programme. If they are still in social services and have reached the higher levels then we will have made a difference."

Case study - The Graduate   

Dafydd Ifans spent nearly 10 years as the only person from an ethnic minority in his local probation and family court welfare service, before securing a principal officer post in the former Gwynedd social services department and then, in 1996, becoming a service manager (children and family services) in the new unitary authority of Conwy.  

At this point, however, his career seemed to stall. "Over the next four years I made several applications for other posts. However, because of a lack of confidence, I withdrew my applications after being short-listed and before interview." Salvation came when Ifans' line manager passed on details of the IDeA/SSI programme. He applied and soon teamed up with his mentor, Barbara Ward, the then corporate director of housing, health and care for Telford and Wrekin Council.  

"My mentor was very committed to the whole process and was what I needed at that point in my career," says Ifans. "The mentoring relationship was pitched at just the right level and I found that she listened, questioned and helped me take a different perspective when necessary. I gained confidence and was able to build on my ideas with someone who had more experience." 

Ifans attended six mentoring sessions and spent a day shadowing Ward in her authority. "During the shadowing I was able to observe the mentor chairing meetings, engaging with Joint Review inspectors and dealing with a particularly sensitive issue involving an elected member. I also attended a council committee. Although I had experience of preparing and presenting reports to such committees, I found that being able to observe the less formal engagement between chief officers and elected members very useful."  

The programme, which also covered areas such as "power and politics", "learning styles" and "overcoming barriers and leadership", concluded with a personal development plan that identified learning and development needs and set targets to improving job performance. "With the mentor I also developed an action plan, which focused on longer-term aims."   

Having finished the course, Ifans began applying for jobs and was selected to be interviewed for senior management positions at Liverpool Council and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). The selection process for both posts took place in parallel over several weeks. "I was more relaxed during the process and much more able to relate my past experiences and skills to the requirements of these posts. As a result I found myself in the fortunate position of being offered both posts. I decided that the Cafcass post provided me with new challenges and I became the director of Cafcass Wales." Now two years into his new job, Ifans is grateful for the support he received on the IDeA programme.  

"Before starting the programme, I had seen so many of my colleagues retire early and had reached a point where this seemed to be the most attractive option. But I have found that joining Cafcass has proved to be an excellent step to take. The programme provided me with the foundations needed to operate within this new and exciting organisation and helped in enabling me to transfer knowledge, skills and experience to this new setting."

Case study - The Mentor

Hannah Miller, director of social services in Croydon, has been a mentor on the IDeA/SSI programme since its inception in 2000. She remains committed to the concept of mentoring which, she says, allows her to develop a relationship with the "mentee" in which the learning process goes both ways.

"It’s a completely different relationship to line management" she says. "I have no vested interest in what they do when they go back to their own authorities, so that gives me the freedom to offer honest advice. It’s about working with them to explore their ideas on how they intend to move forward in their careers. If we feel that it would be better to move out of the local authority and into the private or voluntary sector I’m free to say that. It’s also a two-way learning experience and I’m able to bring new methods and techniques back to Croydon that will help us to recruit and retain our own black and minority ethnic staff."

The mentoring process involves the programme participants spending time in Croydon, attending meetings and shadowing senior managerial staff. "We might have different techniques and approaches to those used in their own authorities," says Miller. "They can then compare the techniques we use to those in their own area." Participants can also meet and "network" with black and minority ethnic managers already working in Croydon.

Once the mentor/manager relationship has become established, Miller will then visit the participants’ own authorities and observe them at work. This allows her to point out how principles learned during the programme can be put into practice. "It’s very important that what they learn on the programme is not isolated from the way they work back at the ranch," she says.

A lot of time is also spent offering advice on applying for jobs and going through the selection process. Miller will even set up mock interviews with her own senior managers and give feedback on how the participants perform.

Miller believes that programme participants gain a lot from the mentoring process, but she freely admits the benefits go both ways. "It’s something new and exciting. As a director you spend most of your time working with top tier managers on systems and strategies. This is the chance to observe people at the heart of the organisation. "I also think it sends out a very strong message to our own black and ethnic minority managers that we are committed to breaking that glass ceiling."