One of the county’s biggest fire services has been accused of discrimination after it emerged white men have to score higher in its recruitment tests than anyone else.

West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service wants 60% of new recruits to be women, and 35% to be from black and minority ethnic groups by 2021.

In a bid to reach the target, they have altered the pass rates to make it easier for people from those groups to get through the test.

West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service wants 60% of new recruits to be women, and 35% to be from black and minority ethnic groups by 2021 (Picture: SWNS)

Women and men from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups only have to score 60% on verbal and numerical tests – where as white men have to score 70%.




A senior source claims the new recruitment programme, introduced in late 2017, costs £100,000 a year.

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This includes £2,500 a month spent on targeted Facebook adverts which just appear on the profiles belonging to women to ‘minimise white men applying’, the source said.

He claims West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service is the first brigade in the UK to introduce the tactic.

He said: ‘This directly discriminates against white men.

‘This approach was intentionally adopted to directly manipulate the diversity figures to meet the targets.

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‘This approach to recruitment is appalling.

‘Not only are they discriminating against large parts of my community, but they are also using huge amounts of public money to do so.

‘There is such a negative culture within management who want to achieve their own agendas at all costs.

‘Not only are they discriminating against large parts of my community, but they are also using huge amounts of public money to do so’ (Picture: SWNS)

‘I have never heard of discrimination on such an industrial scale in the public sector.

‘It’s not fair on the members of the community who rightly expect the best people for the job being selected to serve on the front line.

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‘It’s difficult to swallow knowing people have not been able to achieve their dream careers because they are too white or too male.

‘There should, of course, be measures put in place to encourage those from underrepresented groups to apply, but how would they feel if they found out they were required to perform at a lesser level because of their gender or ethnicity?

‘It’s just so unfair on everyone applying to become a firefighter, the community and even the firefighters that serve alongside these people.

‘The sad fact is there are people sitting on fire engines today purely because of their gender or ethnicity and I don’t understand how any fire service leader is comfortable with that as an approach.’

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The new recruitment process started in September 2017.

It sees recruiters dip into the pool of applicants every three months and choose 1,000 people to be shortlisted for the first stage – a 45 minute test into reactions.

Candidates who pass the tests are then sent a link to the numerical, verbal and mechanical reasoning exam.

In a bid to reach the target, they have altered the pass rates to make it easier for people from those groups to get through the test (Picture: SWNS)

But since the change, white men have to score seven out of 10 to get through to the next stage – a physical test – while women and BME candidates only have to score six.



The source claims as part of the drive, the brigade has ‘intentionally’ not posted general adverts on job boards, in favour of women-targeted Facebook adverts.

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He added: ‘There is intentionally no general adverts anywhere like job boards of the brigades own social media, in order to minimise white men applying.

‘This is because historically, general non-targeted adverts lead to large amounts of white male applicants.’

A spokesman for the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service, said: ‘West Midlands Fire Service is committed to a having a workforce which reflects the diversity of the population of all our communities, and one that is welcoming to all.

‘We are also extremely proud to have been ranked second in this year’s Top 50 UK Employers List, which recognises our continuing commitment to workplace diversity.

‘Our recruitment shows our determination to challenge outdated perceptions about who can – and can’t – be a firefighter.

‘We are working hard to break down barriers faced by people who could bring so much to our service and to their community.

‘Our work to attract more firefighters who are women or from minority backgrounds has been praised by the Government.

‘The approaches we take for recruitment and selection are carefully considered to ensure that they are appropriate, balanced and above all legal.’