Inclusive recruitment

Equality and diversity guidance for employers

Organisations talk a lot about diversity and inclusion, but what does that mean to you? How do you take simple steps to broaden your pool of talent?

Having a more diverse workforce can lead to increased productivity, creativity and profitability. Being more inclusive also builds your reputation and attracts new staff and customers. Diverse organisations can also adapt better to changes and are more innovative.

Inclusive recruitment guides

These guides are designed to help you to achieve a more diverse workforce. In them you'll find practical and often free or low-cost ideas. They'll help you to source and retain apprentices or employees you might not have been able to reach.

We'll offer tips on how you can widen your search for candidates and make your selection process fair. We'll also give you examples of resources that make the most of a new employee's abilities.

Fatima Asif

Replying to applicants

Remember that some people might be applying for their first job, or it might be their dream role. So it's great if you can respond to all candidates - those who apply and those who make it to an interview. It means you can give feedback and help them for next time - and it shows your business in a positive light.

One-to-one support

Our equality team is here to offer advice on good practice. We can help with questions on ways to:

  • promote apprenticeships to a range of groups

  • recruit more diverse apprentices

  • access funding to support your new employee or apprentice

"It is vitally important people like me have the opportunity to maximise our talents. Just because disabled people have different abilities, it doesn’t mean they cannot make a valuable contribution in the workplace."

- Jo-Ann Moran, a Scottish learning and development manager named in the 2018 New Year's Honours who has Usher syndrome, a hearing and visual impairment