LONDON, 10 May 2006 - Water for Fish, a leading people and organisation consulting company and subsidiary of Aon Consulting, today questioned whether The Apprentice, the BBC’s BAFTA winning show, actually shows a recruitment process or is instead a staged entertainment show. The programme claims to show an actual recruitment process, but in reality it is so rife with age discrimination that consultants at Water for Fish say that it is unlikely they would be able to get away with it when the age discrimination legislation comes into play in October.
 
Throughout the series, and particularly in the penultimate show, the BBC along with Sir Alan Sugar and his team have breached age discrimination rules. A number of instances include:

• Of the 14 finalists, the oldest was 39 (Mani) and the rest were under 35. This is a fairly young ceiling considering that there were 14,000 applicants, and taking a cynical perspective, this is likely to be the result of various screen tests and surveys of TV audience reactions to people of varying ages.

• The series declares that it is selecting an apprentice, someone who will learn the tricks of the trade from Sir Alan. It seems contradictory however to have selected finalists all under 40 and to choose between semi-finalists all under 36, but then to criticise the potentials for being young. In the penultimate episode, there were countless references to “young boy” and “young girl” from the ‘interrogators’ and Sir Alan, with the connotation that this was unfavourable. It seems like they want a highly experienced novice, willing to learn and under 35. To stay within the law next year, there needs to be a consistent focus on transferable skills that candidates possess, their responsiveness to lessons and to drop the focus on age as it is irrelevant.

• In the penultimate episode, Paul (26) referred to his working experience in an attempt to secure his place in the final, Sir Alan retorted with a criticism about Paul speaking as if he had 30 years experience. The very notion of selecting an apprentice implies someone that is not experienced in the field that they are applying to work in, so the issue of lacking experience, especially at such a late stage in the game, seems ironic.

• The application form for the show asks for information that is not necessary to assess suitability for the job such as date of birth. This is bad practice for HR purposes as it implies that the selectors need to know the candidates age to assess their suitability for the role. Asking for an actor’s age is fine for dramatic purposes, but The Apprentice is supposed to be a twelve week long ‘interview’ for a job.

The introduction of the new Age Discrimination Regulations on 1 October 2006 means that companies will be under pressure to shake up their selection processes or they could find themselves facing legal action.  Water for Fish warns that the example set by The Apprentice is not one that companies should be following.

Bonita Bryan, Consultant at Water for Fish, commented: “The number of age discriminatory comments on the programme was immense and really does make you question whether this is simply an entertainment show rather than the realistic recruitment process. Either way, it sets a bad example for companies.  Were companies to follow similar recruitment drives, then they could find themselves at risk of legal action.  While The Apprentice is fantastic TV viewing, we would urge companies to enjoy the show for what it is but to check that they themselves ensure that their whole recruitment selection process is revised so that it complies with the new age discrimination legislation coming in later this year. We would also advise the BBC if they are planning another series for The Apprentice after October that they revise their recruitment process to make sure it is line with the new regulations, otherwise they could be facing embarrassing legal challenges!”

Note to Editors:

About Water for Fish

Water for Fish is a leading people and organisation consulting company which helps private and public sector clients shape their organisation to achieve their business goals. It does this through three service areas; Transformation - achieving the right shape and feel of an organisation; Assessment - getting the right people in the right roles; and, Learning - developing people in line with an organisation's ambitions.

Aon Consulting acquired Water for Fish in January 2006 to strengthen its Human Resources (HR) Solutions business, offering the firm a strong platform from which to build on its market share in the HR Consultancy area.   The combined operation, under the Water for Fish brand name, is run from Aon Consulting’s existing offices in London and Farnborough, and the Water for Fish office in Henley, bringing Aon Consulting’s regional network of offices to 12.   Ben Thornton, previously Executive Director in Aon’s HR Solutions practice, heads up the new Water for Fish group.

About Aon Consulting

Aon Consulting is a leading human capital consultancy, helping organisations of every size to attract and keep the employees they need. We advise on all aspects of employment, including health-related insurance and risk; employee compensation and pensions; human resource strategy planning; job design and change management; and staff assessment and legal issues. Aon Consulting is a division of Aon, one of the UK’s largest insurance brokers and providers of risk management services and a major force in reinsurance and the UK human capital consulting market.  Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

About Aon
Aon Corporation (www.aon.com ) is a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting. The company employs approximately 53,000 professionals in its 600 offices in more than 120 countries.  Backed by broad resources, industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals help a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions.
 
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