Opening Doors 2026 Report Launch – Future Talent Forum

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, 170+ employers are making 1.65m jobs more accessible. Join our campaign.

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.

About the event

This special forum will launch both the Opening Doors Progress Report 2026 and the refreshed Opening Doors Framework 2026. Drawing on insights from this year’s survey, we will share the latest evidence on the progress businesses are making, the challenges they continue to face, and how the framework has evolved through consultation with employers and stakeholders.

The updated framework introduces five new actions designed to strengthen the ‘Five Keys to Inclusive Recruitment’ and help employers address barriers identified through the campaign’s research, employer feedback and consultation process. Together, these additions enhance the framework’s ability to support employers in creating fairer, more accessible and more effective recruitment processes.

As the final forum in our 2026 series, this forum will shine a light on ‘Prioritising accessibility and eliminating bias’ (Key 5). While accessibility and bias reduction sit at the heart of Key 5, they are also underpinning principles that support the success of all five keys. Ensuring recruitment processes are accessible, transparent and fair is essential if employers are to widen access to talent and maximise the impact of their inclusive recruitment efforts. The updated Key 5 also recognises emerging considerations around the use of AI in recruitment, alongside established approaches such as Ban the Box, workplace flexibility, diverse interview panels and reasonable adjustments. Together, these actions help employers create recruitment processes that are fair, transparent and accessible to a wider range of candidates.

Join us for a practical session on how to:

· Understand the latest insights from the Opening Doors Progress Report 2026.

· Explore the refreshed Opening Doors: Future Talents Framework and new actions introduced for employers.

· Build accessibility into recruitment through adjustments, flexibility and inclusive application processes.

· Reduce bias through fair assessment approaches, diverse decision-making and effective use of recruitment data.

· Hear from businesses who are embedding inclusive recruitment into their recruitment strategy.

Contact details

• Contact Events@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