Hugh Smith is a member of the Diverse Staff Network

04 October 2022

He’s been a professional footballer, rugby player, a magistrate and construction worker – so Hugh Smith knows a bit about diversity.

The Clerk of Works within the Financial Services department is also part of a Council group that champions the cause of people from a range of ethnic minorities.

Formed in 2020, the Diverse Staff Network aims to promote an inclusive workplace that celebrates the varied backgrounds of staff and those living within our communities.

It strives for equality and offers members a social and supportive environment.

Hugh signed up soon after joining the Vale from a similar role with Caerphilly Council a couple of years ago.

That switch is the latest step in a colourful career that has seen him achieve sporting success, work with young offenders and even serve on the judiciary.

After arriving from St Kitts and Nevis in the mid-1950s, part of the Windrush generation, Hugh’s parents settled in the Butetown area of Cardiff and as a youngster he was spotted by the city’s football side.

A spell with North-London giants Tottenham Hotspur followed as he lined up alongside many who went on to become household names.

However, though Hugh has fond memories of this time, football in the 1970s was tough with racism commonplace.

“I never made a first team appearance, but I was a professional that played youth and reserve team football,” said the former striker.

“I started as a trainee at Cardiff when I was a schoolboy, then I had two years with Tottenham when I played with the likes of Mark Kendall and quite a collection of stars really.

“There were some brilliant experiences, like staying overnight in hotels before games, that was great. But I experienced racism at Cardiff, even from the coaching staff. Going to London was a little bit easier because it was a more diverse city than Cardiff at the time, but there were still areas that you wouldn’t want to go.

“There were a lot of unsavoury incidents involving the coaches at Cardiff. You look back now and think ‘how did they ever get away with all that?’ There was one particular guy, his son played for the club as well, who would dish out constant racist abuse. It was an every-day occurrence.

“The individual has passed away now, but you look back and think ‘how did I allow that to carry on’, ‘how did I let someone get away with that?’ It was quite horrific really.

“At the time I was a 16 or 17-year-old kid and these people had a lot of influence on your development and how you were seen within the football club. I was one of four black players in the team at Cardiff and all of us were local.

“It was very difficult, but we all supported each other.”

One of that group was best friend Anton Joseph, who went on to represent Cardiff City at senior level, while Hugh also had huge admiration for another current Council employee.

Gerald Cordle, who now works in the Highways team, was a feared winger for Cardiff RFC before moving to rugby league and being capped by Great Britain.

“I see Gerald almost every morning,” smiled Hugh. “I’m a little bit older than him, but we grew up in the same area. He went on to play rugby for Cardiff and was an absolute superstar.

“He is a role model in Butetown and, along the way, I’m sure he would have had the same issues that I had.”

Hugh was also an accomplished rugby player, turning out for Butetown RFC and then Cardiff Internationals RFC, known as the CIACs, alongside siblings Clyde and Earl, while older brother Carl played youth rugby there before representing Cardiff RFC.

It was at this time that Hugh began a career in Local Government after enrolling on a scheme called Positive Action Training in Housing (PATH).

That was operated by South Glamorgan County Council under direction from an organisation in London and aimed to recruit more people from minority backgrounds into the sector.

He has stayed there ever since, joining the Vale after spells with Cardiff, Rhondda Cynon Taff and Newport Council, as well as Caerphilly.

Now Hugh works on the Sustainable Communities for Learning programme, liaising closely with Building Control to monitor the quality of contractors’ work, mainly in relation to school construction.

During his time in the industry there have been many changes in Local Government and the wider world.

Welsh Councils underwent reorganisation, while, thankfully, racism is not as prevalent as it was 40 of 50 years ago.

But inequality and prejudice remain very real problems, issues that the Diverse Network aims to tackle in the Vale.

“I haven’t been to watch Cardiff City now for a long time,” said Hugh.

“We went to watch a game against Leeds United when I friend of mine was playing, Sanchez Watt, his father is from Cardiff.

“We were in the main stand and there were four or five guys hurling constant racist abuse at the Leeds players. I stood up and challenged them and they were removed, but my son never went back to watch a game again. He was only young then.

“I’m fairly new to the Diverse Network because I’ve only been with the Authority for two-and-a-half years, but the group first came together to look at some of the issues which impact on black and ethnic minorities.

“They are not controversial issues, a lot of them are to do with recruitment, bringing people in at a level at which they can learn various roles.

“The meetings of the group are very open and there are a broad range of people attached to it with a wide variety of skills. Not all are from a black and ethnic minority group. There are advisors that work with the group that are not from that background.”

While with Cardiff Council, Hugh also spent some time working with young offenders.

This experience has helped him understand the type of support people need in order to succeed.

“We must understand that people coming into the organisation need to have the opportunities and they need to be encouraged as well around training,” he added.

“I work in construction for the Council and, apart from colleagues in Building Control and other areas of the building centre within the authority, I’m only aware of maybe three or four people from a diverse background.

“It’s about training and awareness. I don’t want to suggest that you bring someone in just because of their background. You need to have people with the right skills and the right knowledge.

“We don’t see any diverse quantity surveyors on site, for example. We don’t see any diverse site managers. I’ve met two project managers from diverse backgrounds, who were employed by our contractors. Normally the workforce that you see from a diverse background are ventilation fitters, brick layers, labourers or cleaners on site.

“There is something blocking the pathway there and a lot of it is belief. As a diverse group we have to believe that you can go on to do jobs at a higher level. These individuals need positive thinking among themselves, but confidence is a fragile thing.

“We need to make sure we are offering people from certain backgrounds equal opportunities, but also that they feel in a position to take them.”

The Diverse network is open to anyone. More information and a membership form can be found on its Staffnet page.