Inclusive Employment
Inclusive hiring needs two prepared sides in the same room.
Candidates who face extra barriers often hear that employers are not interested, while employers who want to hire inclusively often say they cannot find candidates. A structured, accessible meeting, with both sides prepared, can start to close that gap. We are looking for specialist partners and committed employers to build this with.
Explore this page7 sections
Good intentions on both sides are not enough without a meeting point.
Job fairs can be crowded, noisy and inaccessible, and a stall conversation rarely reaches the practical questions: what the work involves, what adjustments are possible, how the interview will run. Many candidates leave without knowing whether the employer was serious.
A smaller, prepared meeting changes that. Employers come having thought about the roles they can offer and the support they can provide. Candidates come having prepared, with a partner organisation's help where they want it. Both can ask the questions that matter.
How the meeting would work
23 topics across 5 areas. Five parts, before, during and after.
Employers Who Mean ItCommitment before invitation.5
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 requires every establishment, private ones included, to notify an equal opportunity policy. We would ask employers about theirs.
- Real roles they intend to fill
- A plain description of the work and requirements
- What adjustments they can offer
- Who makes hiring decisions
- Willingness to follow up with every candidate they meet
Preparing CandidatesNobody meets an employer cold.5
- Information about each employer and role in advance
- Practice introductions and questions
- Resume review
- Agreeing access needs for the day
- Choosing which employers to meet
Preparing EmployersInclusive hiring is a skill too.5
- Accessible interviewing basics
- Respectful, person-first language
- Questions to avoid, and better ones to ask
- Describing adjustments clearly
- Learning from specialist partners
The Meeting ItselfStructured, small and accessible.4
- Short scheduled conversations rather than queues
- Interpreters and accessible materials where needed
- Quiet space and breaks
- A partner organisation present throughout
After the MeetingWhere most events stop.4
- Every candidate told the outcome
- Clear next steps where there is interest
- Feedback from candidates and employers
- Support for those not taken forward
No fee is charged to candidates at any stage.
Where this stands
- No meeting has been held yet
- We are looking for specialist partner organisations
- We are looking for employers committed to inclusive hiring
- We will not name partners or employers until they have agreed
Questions candidates can ask employers
- What does a normal day in this role involve?
- How does the interview process work, and can it be adjusted?
- What support or adjustments have you provided before?
- Who would I talk to if I needed something changed?
- What does progression look like?
Who this is for
- People with disabilities looking for work
- First-generation graduates without a professional network
- People returning to work after long gaps
- Employers and HR teams building inclusive hiring
How it would be built
With a specialist partner, we would agree the group, the roles and the access arrangements first, then invite employers who have committed to real openings and to following up. Candidates and employers are both prepared in advance. Afterwards we would collect feedback from both sides and report honestly on what came of it.
What your students leave with
- Direct conversations with employers who have said they want to hire inclusively
- A clear picture of real roles, requirements and workplaces
- Answers to practical questions about adjustments and support
- Candidates prepared beforehand, not meeting employers cold
- Employers briefed on accessible interviewing beforehand
- Follow-up on any next steps that come out of the meeting
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Fewer, better-prepared meetings, with employers who mean it.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.