Thales UK: Opening Doors to a More Inclusive Workforce
Thales UK: Opening Doors to a More Inclusive Workforce
Thales UK is committed to building a workplace that reflects the full diversity of the society it serves. With a strong footprint across the defence, aerospace, security and digital identity sectors, the company recognises that inclusive recruitment and fair talent development are essential to innovation, operational excellence and long-term success.
To deliver on this ambition, Thales UK has set out three core priorities to drive social mobility, remove barriers to talent and embed inclusive hiring practices across their business.
Actions Thales has committed to from the Opening Doors campaign
1. Build partnerships with support organisations working with people from excluded groups to help you create effective pathways into work and maximise your long-term impact
Thales UK takes a full-funnel approach to widening access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers, working with partners who support people at every stage of their journey into work. This begins with building early awareness and aspiration through its school outreach: Thales UK prioritises schools with higher levels of disadvantage and offers hands-on STEM activities, career workshops and teacher development. The company also supports initiatives such as Primary Engineer, reaching more than 75,000 young people and helping to spark early interest in engineering and technology.
Thales UK collaborates with partners who help individuals develop skills and transition into technology roles. Its partnership with Code First Girls supports women in retraining for entry-level roles and progressing into mid-level positions, while its collaboration with Makers creates routes into software, DevOps (development operations), and artificial intelligence (AI) engineering for people looking to start or switch careers. Many of the individuals joining through these programmes come from groups underrepresented in the sector.
To support candidates through the recruitment process, Thales UK partners with Talent Spaces, providing coaching, mock assessments and one-to-one interview preparation for women applying for graduate and apprenticeship roles. In 2025, 24 women were hired through the programme. Thales UK also offers free, flexible virtual work experience via SpringPod, with over 1,557 participants so far, including a high proportion of women and young people from lower-income backgrounds.
This joined-up approach allows Thales UK to attract, develop and support a broader range of talent, while helping remove barriers that have historically limited who can access opportunities in the STEM sector.
2. Make sure that your employees understand your commitment, and provide training on inclusive recruitment for those involved in hiring
Thales UK understands that inclusive recruitment is key for those making hiring decisions. The organisation has launched both mandatory and voluntary online training to all employees, including hiring managers, covering topics such as unconscious bias and fair assessment practices. These topics are also the common thread running through the Thales Leadership Pathways, where skills transferability and advocacy are key. This ensures that its recruitment decisions are made on merit and without unintended bias, helping to foster a culture where all candidates genuinely have a level playing field.
Thales UK is also a long-standing member of the Business Disability Forum (BDF), which helps with their commitment to becoming a disability-smart organisation. Employees are encouraged to review the resources available to be better advocates for their workplace culture. This helps strengthen inclusive recruitment by improving Thales UK’s understanding of accessibility needs and best practices for attracting and supporting disabled talent.
3. Ask all candidates if they need any adjustments at every stage of the process.
Thales UK is accredited as a Disability Confident Employer with the Department for Work and Pensions, and it has continuously shown commitment and dedication in making its hiring process as inclusive as possible.
Using Thales UK’s digital tool (Amberjack), Thales UK releases early-stage communications that allows candidates to inform hiring teams of any adjustments they may need to fully participate in the assessment processes. An email is sent to every applicant, outlining how to indicate any needs and what the adjustment processes are. By embedding this step up front, Thales UK ensures candidates feel supported from the outset, and that they can engage in open, informed conversations about how best to enable them to showcase their capabilities. Thales UK also releases the questions in advance, allowing all candidates to feel prepared and less anxious for their assessments.
Early feedback has shown improved candidate experience scores, more diverse applicant shortlists, and positive comments from candidates who valued the clarity around adjustments and inclusive behaviours.
How has Opening Doors helped Thales UK?
Thales UK is committed to embedding these three actions, highlighted in the Opening Doors Five Keys for Inclusive Recruitment Framework, into its ongoing talent acquisition strategy and organisational culture, ensuring that inclusive recruitment is woven into everything it does. Through partnership, training and accessible process design, Thales UK aims to be a leader in inclusive hiring and an employer of choice for talent from lower socio-economic backgrounds and underrepresented communities.
By signing BITC’s Opening Doors campaign, Thales UK has strengthened its inclusive recruitment by removing unnecessary barriers and widening access to opportunities for underrepresented talent. This commitment has helped ensure recruitment processes focus on skills and potential, supporting a more diverse and inclusive workforce.
