|
|
|
Graphic reproduced courtesy of Chinatown Online
the motherland and our remote origin,
Making my home globally, I hold hands with new
friends
|
THE DRAGON PROJECT Community Skills Audit - An Executive Summary INTRODUCTION The Project essentially operates in 2 phases. The First Phase involves carrying out a Community Skills Audit to collect facts for an up to date picture: to see what skills exist within the community, to examine employment issues and to investigate people's aspirations. The Second Phase will be to provide a range of measures to assist participants in diversifying the economic base in which the Chinese community operate. This report summarises the findings of the First Phase. The Dragon Project is jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund through Government Office North East and the Single Regeneration Budget through the Graingertown Project. STOWELL STREET Newcastle's own Chinatown, Stowell Street is very much the commercial heart of the local Chinese community. As well as being the location for most of the Chinese Restaurants, it also contains offices and retail establishments providing a range of services both to the indigenous Chinese and the host population. It is a very popular destination for local people looking for a night out and also to the many tourists visiting the City. THE CHINESE IN NEWCASTLE Although they do not have a very long history in Newcastle, when compared with other cities such as London, San Francisco and Liverpool, the Chinese have carved out a legitimate place for themselves in the North East by providing a new eating experience through their numerous carry-out and sit-down restaurants. Their development received a significant boost when Stowell Street was developed as a Chinatown in the 1980's. The majority of the community are Cantonese or Ha-Ka speaking, from Southern China, principally Hong Kong and the New Territories. By far the biggest employment sector is Chinese catering. There is a also a much smaller, Mandarin speaking, group from mainland China who tend to work in salaried employment outside the catering sector, such as the professions, medicine, public services and academia. There are a number of community groups representing various cultural, religious and geographical differences. Perhaps the two best known are the North East Chinese Association based in Stowell Street and the True Jesus Church based in Shieldfield. THE AUDIT AND ITS FINDINGS On advice from the Chinese community, the Audit was focused on the second generation Chinese, many of whom were either born or grew up in the UK. This group, it was felt, were those who were most directly affected by the changing economic and social pressures. They were also the people most likely to embrace the opportunities created through diversification. A sample population of just over 100 people were interviewed by a team of Chinese speaking researchers using a specially designed data collection questionnaire. After screening, a residual number of 86 completed forms were computer analysed by Entrust staff. A report examining this analysis was produced of which this is an executive summary. Copies of the full report can be examined on request. Of the sample; 42% were employed, 25% were self-employed and surprisingly, 34% were unemployed - 40% of which had been out of work for more than 12 months. A detailed analysis of the characteristics of each of these 3 groups is contained in the main report. Whilst confirming the working hypothesis; that there was a considerable degree of underemployment (40% believed that their job did not match their skills or training), consequent frustration with a real wish to change things among the target population, the Audit also produced some surprising results. Chief among these is the discovery that, despite conventional wisdom to the contrary, unemployment does exist within the Newcastle Chinese community (see above). Also the range of skills, both in terms of academic achievement (25% had degrees) and interest areas, is very wide indeed. Examples of underemployment and a the wide range of skills available include: A Chef with an Economics degree A qualified Scuba diving instructor employed as a waiter An unemployed man with a BA and an MA in Engineering A self-employed take-away business owner with a degree in Computing An unemployed Feng-Shui consultant and Clairvoyant Employment patterns within catering indicated the existence of a sector characterised by a network of smaller businesses (39% of the employed worked in businesses with less than 10 employees) with employment gained though a direct approach to their current employers (40%). Of the 25% of respondents already self-employed 80% had 5 or less employees. Training needs were identified, as were perceived barriers to training, employment and self-employment. Interest was expressed in a range of training course subject matter. Many of the subjects were specific to business such as; business planning, raising capital, Marketing and Sales, bookkeeping, import-export and office administration. The main general interest area was IT (40% of all respondents). Some of these barriers were to do with the ways in which training and other development measures were currently made available, which confirmed the findings of a number of earlier research studies of the catering sector. The unusual hours worked in the sector; typically a 60 hour week, usually in split shifts over a seven day week, means that a lack of free time (25%) or unsuitable course times (19%) is an effective barrier. Other barriers, also noted in studies on the South Asian communities in UK, were family pressures. There is, not unexpectedly, a reluctance to change something which, hitherto, has always worked. Also family finance is a very key source of funding for small businesses (27% of finance from family, 33% from Banks). Family structures are still very strong in community dynamics. Younger community members, such as those involved with this audit, need to have family support, especially if they are considering a new business. There is thus a need to 'sell' the idea of the Dragon Project to the wider Chinese community. There was certainly no lack of ambition in those interviewed, the majority of which (79%) indicated their willingness to participate in the Dragon Project and 53% were definitely interested in starting new businesses. THE WAY FORWARD It is entirely unrealistic to expect that a single project like this will, of itself, change the face of a whole community. However the Dragon Project does seem, to a significant extent, to represent an idea whose time has come. The proposal is to work intensively with a number of participants and to use a range of measures to establish new, small and successful businesses outside the catering sector. These will, it is to be hoped, provide demonstrations to others within the Chinese community, of what is possible and help overcome some of the fear of change. For ENTRUST and other agencies involved in the development of these new businesses, there are lessons to be learned on the ways in which business services are provided, to ensure they can meet the needs of all the communities served. THE ROLE OF ENTRUST ENTRUST would argue that the local Chinese community needs the Dragon Project. As a very experienced and successful local enterprise agency, with intimate knowledge of the North East economy, they have an excellent opportunity, through the Dragon Project, to utilise their arsenal of measures to encourage, establish and support some great new businesses within a section of the local community that has, hitherto, been very difficult to assist. Specifically, the data collected in the Audit will be used, through ENTRUST's research facilities, to find good business opportunities, commensurate with the skills and aspirations identified, that could be turned into viable commercial operations. The ways in which ENTRUST would build these businesses would be though a mixture of training, counselling/consultancy support and facilitating access to finance and premises. Models would include individual start-ups, fast-growth group starts, joint venturing (and other alliancing models), investment-led 'buy-ins' and development and diversification of existing businesses. As examples of opportunities already identified; new business methods, utilising ITC and allowing the creation of virtual businesses, particularly in international services, present excellent opportunities and would make the best use of the high level of IT skills identified through the Audit. Trade with China, following the liberalisation of their economy, represents arguably the most significant recent opportunity available to businesses world-wide. The Department of Trade and Industry has designated China as a priority target market for British business in 1999. Clearly somebody with first hand knowledge and language skills has a very real advantage in participating in this process. To help in this process ENTRUST now have an office located at 20-28 Stowell Street staffed by manager Tony Yau who is fluent in most of the dialects used by the Chinese community in Newcastle. Facilities include meeting rooms and good ITC links. |
|
[ Home ] [ News & Events ] [ Skills Audits ] [ Contents ] [ Links ]
|
