ARENA RACING COMPANY COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ATTRACTS INDUSTRY FIRST APPRENTICESHIP PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STEPHEN LAWRENCE DAY FOUNDATION
Arena Racing Company, the UK’s largest horse racing group, has partnered with the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation to create a series of apprenticeships at Lingfield Park Racecourse. The partnership, brought together by The Racing Pathway, is the first of its kind in horse racing and will build an employee pipeline with diverse lived experiences and cultures, as well as supporting succession into more senior roles within the business.
The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation exists to inspire a more equitable and inclusive society, and to foster opportunities for marginalised young people in the UK. The Foundation is committed to creating a fairer society in which all young people, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to flourish. By providing mentoring, coaching, work experience opportunities, and bursaries for education and training, the foundation broadens young people’s views of what’s possible, and creates pathways into education and career opportunities which might not otherwise be open to them.
Lingfield Park racecourse is the busiest racecourse in Europe with over 75 Flat, Jump and All-Weather fixtures across the year. It is looking to target applicants aged between 16 – 24, from ethnically diverse backgrounds, for four entry level roles at the racecourse. Each of the roles will focus on a different aspect of the business - Business Administration, Maintenance, Hospitality and Groundskeeping.
The apprenticeship programme at Lingfield Park Racecourse is the first step in a deeper and longer-term partnership between the business and the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, a partnership which will evolve to support the future needs of the wider Arena Racing Company and its 21 venues, while continuing to serve the ambitions of the Foundation.
Jayne Greenman, HR Director at Arena Racing Company, said:
“Both the board and the HR team here at ARC are fully invested in helping people progress through the business. We are already a levy paying employer and support staff with relevant qualifications through part-funding, full-funding and paid time off to study and take exams. When Josh proposed a partnership with the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation it quickly became apparent that they shared our vision to provide everybody with the opportunity to grow and progress. The partnership is another positive step in achieving ARC's D&I ambitions.”
Jess Neil, CEO of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, said:
The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation exists to inspire a more equitable and inclusive society for young people from marginalised backgrounds. The collective power of collaboration in the journey towards equity cannot be understated, so to have the support of the racing industry, through esteemed partners like Arena Racing Company and The Racing Pathway, in delivering this vision, is as powerful as it is transformative. Stephen’s legacy serves as a reminder that when we uplift young people from marginalised communities, we are not just opening doors for them, but enriching the very spaces they step into. It's this shared belief — that our institutions, industries, and societies are infinitely better with diverse perspectives at the centre— that fuels our collective drive. Together, we are not only empowering young people from marginalised communities but ensuring a brighter, more equitable future for us all.
Josh Apiafi, founder of The Racing Pathway, said:
“Following racing’s wide support of Stephen Lawrence Day in April, we were delighted to facilitate the introduction of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation and ARC. This enabled a new partnership, which is creating opportunities for young people via four apprenticeships at Lingfield Park Racecourse. It is exciting to see that one of the positions is the Business Administration (Racing) Apprenticeship which The Racing Pathway bought together and launched for the industry with the support of the Racing Foundation. The Racing Pathway strategy aims to create opportunities in racing for people from all parts of society, we are delighted that ARC’s partnership underlines their commitment to this.”
The four, new entry level roles at Lingfield Park racecourse will go live on Tuesday 10th October. Interested applicants need to visit www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk/careers for more details about the roles and to apply.
