A SCOTTISH diversity and inclusion champion has been awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire).
Dr Ollie Folayan, chair of Aberdeen-based social enterprise AFBE-UK Scotland, was recognised in the New Year Honours list for his services to diversity and inclusion in engineering.
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Ollie said: “I feel incredibly honoured to have been given this recognition. When my sister, Nike, and I set out in 2007 to set up the AFBE-UK, we never imagined that so many people would join us on the journey and that so many would benefit. This recognition is for everyone in the AFBE-UK family who works day in day out to make a difference in our community.
“I want to thank our partners, allies and enablers. I especially want to thank my wife Elizabeth who was there from day one. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without her support.”
Dr Folayan is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and co-founder of the award-winning non-profit Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK), and chair of its Scottish arm. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Dundee’s School of Science & Engineering and a member of Royal Academy of Engineering D&I Steering Committee.
AFBE-UK supports all young people, particularly those from black minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds by giving them a platform and the tools to development career aspirations. The organisation works closely with companies to support their diversity and inclusion approach with a particular focus on its recruitment strategy and progression of ethnic minority staff into leadership positions.
AFBE-UK was founded in London in 2007. Its Scotland division was founded in 2011 and is based in Aberdeen.
The social enterprise also provides mentoring programmes to support young people from under-represented groups. This includes its schools programme NextGen, where industry leaders and professionals give advice to pupils through engaging events; Transition, where industry leaders help aspiring engineering professionals to enter the job market; and Real Projects, where industry professionals share their knowledge and expertise with students and recent graduates. Scottish events have been held in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
In addition, AFBE-UK Scotland recently ran its first Transcend programme – a senior leadership course to help ethnic minority professionals progress into leadership roles. There were eight business professionals that participated in the 10-week programme. The course was delivered through a series of sessions aimed at unearthing the barriers to career progression and charting a path into leadership.
AFBE-UK’s latest corporate partner is bp. The addition of bp brings the total number of members in the diversity and inclusion organisation to 66, with the global integrated energy business joining others such as the Mercedes F1 team and The University of Aberdeen in becoming members.
For more information about AFBE-UK Scotland, please visit: https://www.afbescotland.org/
