 Compared against the average demography of the United Kingdom, Oldham has a high level of people of South Asian heritage, particularly those with roots in Pakistan and Bangladesh.Due to the town's prevalence as an industrial centre and thus a hub for employment, Oldham attracted migrant workers throughout its history, including those from wider-England, Scotland, Ireland and parts of Poland.During the 1950s and 1960s, in an attempt to fill the shortfall of workers and revitalise local industries, members of the wider Commonwealth of Nations were encouraged to migrate to Oldham and other British towns.