Opening Doors Forum: Putting Skills First in Recruitment

This is an online event.

Audience

Open to both members and non-members of Business in the Community (BITC). The event will be designed for HR Managers, Talent acquisition leads, EDI and Responsible business leads.

Background

Opening Doors is BITC’s flagship inclusive recruitment campaign. Free and open to all employers, the campaign aims to make 2 million jobs more accessible by building a supported network of businesses committed to fair and inclusive hiring. So far, 160+ employers are making 1.65m jobs more accessible. Join our campaign. 

About the event

If the UK was made up of 100 employers, 22 would close their doors to disabled people, 35 would close their doors to school leavers and 55 would close their doors to ex-offenders. For employers, opening their doors to diverse talent creates social and economic value. BITC’s Opening Doors 2025 Progress report highlights that 72% of signatories are making their workforce more diverse, 64% are filling hard-to-fill vacancies and 53% are closing skills gaps – demonstrating the impact of employers sharing and learning together to improve outcomes.

In 2026, the Opening Doors Forums focus on each of the ‘Five Keys to Inclusive Recruitment’. Following on from Forums on Keys 1 (Partnerships), 2 (Showing your commitment to inclusion), and 3 (Comprehensive job descriptions), our next forum will be on ‘Focusing on the essential skills needed for the job’ (Key 4).

Key 4 actions:

-Ask for skills over experience or qualifications (4a)

-Ask only for skills really needed for each role (4b)

-Recognise non-traditional work experience (4c)

-Consider accepting non-UK qualifications (4d)

-Ensure each application stage appropriately assesses skills (4e)

A growing body of research highlights the importance of focusing recruitment on the specific skills needed to do the job, rather than relying on qualifications or prior roles as proxies. The UK Employer Skills Survey shows that skills‑shortage vacancies continue to be a major challenge for employers, driven by a mismatch between candidate capabilities and role requirements (UK Department for Education, Employer Skills Survey 2024: Full UK Research Report, 2025).

At the same time, evidence from Skills Builder Partnership demonstrates that both essential transferable skills (such as communication and problem solving) and role‑specific technical skills are critical to productivity and economic performance — with low overall skill levels costing the UK economy an estimated £22bn a year (Skills Builder Partnership, Essential Skills Tracker 2023). By clearly identifying and assessing only the skills genuinely required for a role — whether technical, professional or transferable — employers can reduce unnecessary barriers, access a broader and more diverse talent pool, and better match candidates to roles where they can succeed and progress.

Join us for a practical session on how to:

-Centre job requirements on the core skills and competencies needed.

-Minimise reliance on formal qualifications or backgrounds.

-Open opportunities to non-traditional or under-represented candidates through skills-based hiring.

-Design fair assessment methods that test candidates on relevant abilities and potential.

About Opening Doors

Opening Doors is Business in the Community’s (BITC) flagship inclusive recruitment campaign. Open to all employers, and free to join, we have an ambition to make 2 million jobs more accessible to diverse talent by supporting employers to make changes to the way they recruit.

Business in the Community has created a simple framework to guide businesses through their inclusive recruitment journey. It identifies 25 actions grouped into the 5 keys to inclusive recruitment. Businesses are asked to identify at least three actions that they will implement during the campaign.

Booking and contact details and further information

• Contact Jessica.hart@bitc.org.uk for any further questions.
• Full joining instructions will be sent before the event.

Find out how your organisation can become a member of Business in the Community