Creating Partnerships that Connect Untapped Talent and Jobs

• Uncategorized
• Healthy_Communities
• Employment and Skills

Why inclusive recruitment matters

Many businesses in the UK struggle to recruit, with 57% of employers reporting hard-to-fill vacancies at the start of 2023¹. This is being driven by historically low levels of unemployment – with an average ratio of one unemployed person to every vacancy – and high levels of economic inactivity (people of working age not looking for employment)².
At the same time, employers increasingly prioritise diversity and inclusion, which are key to being a responsible and successful business³. And yet research suggests that businesses are overlooking – or even excluding – some job seekers:

• 22% would close their doors to disabled people⁴
• 35% would close their doors to refugees⁵
• 35% would close their doors to education leavers⁶
• 58% would close their doors to homeless jobseekers⁷
• 55% would close their doors to people with criminal convictions.⁸

Focus on key one of five

Business in the Community’s (BITC) Opening Doors campaign supports businesses to take action across five keys to inclusive recruitment. This toolkit, contains advice and examples to help your business with the first key:

• Create partnerships that connect untapped talent to your jobs.

Download the toolkit to learn more about the business benefits of inclusive recruitment. Read case studies from Business in the Community (BITC) members on how participating in the Opening Doors campaign is helping to build long-term partnerships that are key to making a positive impact on society. And how Opening Doors employees are enabled to better understand the challenges some groups face.

The value of partnerships

The toolkit provides insight into the need for creating high-impact partnerships and includes guidance on the following stages.

Utilise the support available from Business in the Community

BITC can support your business to create partnerships that connect untapped talent to your jobs.

• Sign up to Opening Doors to join a community of businesses committing to inclusive recruitment.
• Access BITC’s Advisory Services for support to develop a partnership strategy or implement inclusive recruitment.
• Get involved in BITC’s employment programmes, which include employability activities and work placements for groups such as refugees, over 50s and people experiencing homelessness.

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