The King’s Seeing is Believing Visit in Sheffield, 12 May 2026

This is an in-person event. Attendance by invitation only.

Audience

• C-suite/Senior leaders

Background

In Sheffield, inclusive recruitment is not just a social ambition, it is essential to the city’s long term economic success. This Seeing is Believing visit will showcase why widening access to opportunity is vital for Sheffield’s economy and communities, and how business leaders can take practical, measurable steps to unlock talent, drive growth and improve social mobility.

Aligned with Sheffield’s Pride of Place Partnership and the city’s wider social mobility and growth agendas, the visit will highlight both the need and the opportunity. Employment and skills are top priorities within the South Yorkshire Combined Authority strategy, and inclusive recruitment is a driving principle of the Sheffield Growth Plan, rooted in the belief that “talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.” Yet too many people remain excluded from the workforce despite having the potential to contribute.

Participants will hear directly about the barriers faced by those most excluded, including young people not in education, employment or training, care leavers, unpaid carers and young families at risk of homelessness. Through first hand insight and discussion, business leaders will explore the role they can play in creating pathways into work, stability and independence, and how recruitment and human resources practices can evolve to remove barriers rather than reinforce them.

The visit is designed to catalyse meaningful, long term action. Businesses will be encouraged to adapt outreach, recruitment and human resources policies to better support underrepresented groups, to deepen sustained collaboration through Sheffield Pride of Place Partnership, which is uniquely placed to convene, connect, campaign and enable action, and to build practical partnerships with local charities and community organisations, contributing time, talent and resources to support those furthest from opportunity.

By embedding inclusive recruitment into long term business strategy, Sheffield’s employers can help unlock untapped talent and build a stronger, more inclusive and more prosperous city.

About this event

This Seeing is Believing visit will offer a unique opportunity to hear directly from young people, educators, experts, and employers about what’s working—and what isn’t—when it comes to preparing young people for the world of work. By engaging as leaders, we can work together and with Business in the Community on implementing solutions so that every young person can see and seize a future in work.

Booking and contact details and further information

• For further information, please reach out to The King’s Seeing is Believing team (SIB@bitc.org.uk)
• Full joining instructions will be sent before the event.

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