Recruitment
Attracting the right people to your business is essential. There are a number of options to consider when thinking about how best to recruit and manage talent within your business.
Getting the right person first time can be challenging. Ensuring the people applying for the job have the right skills and will be a fit with the existing team is vital and a wrong hire in the early days can be costly overall.
How Jobcentre Plus can help employers
If you’re looking to fill a vacancy, Jobcentre Plus can help. Here's a summary of the extensive range of services Jobcentre Plus offers to help employers to grow and develop their business.
Their employer teams have the expertise and sector knowledge to provide you with the candidates that are right for you.
They already work closely with thousands of employers across the country to help them with their recruitment needs, identifying suitable candidates who could be the perfect fit.
Apprenticeships
Offering an alternative route into employment, apprenticeships give people the opportunity to gain valuable experience and a recognised qualification.
Apprenticeships are a valuable way to encourage skills development supporting people into the workplace and into an industry they can grow and develop in. They are also an opportunity for people who are eligible to earn a wage, gain a recognised qualification and get hands-on industry experience.
Qualifications linked to apprenticeships range from Level 1 and 2 to Degree level qualifications.
An apprentice will usually work around 30 hours a week, but this may differ depending on the industry, and 20 per cent of the time should be spend in off-the-job training to give them time to study.
For more information about employing an apprentice click here.
Find apprenticeship training if you're an employer here.
Traineeships
The traineeship programme is designed to support young people to find employment in their chosen industry. It is a skills development programme that includes a work placement and can last from six weeks up to one year. As part of the traineeship programme, learners must complete a minimum of 70 hours in a high-quality work placement with a local employer.
For every individual trainee (up to a maximum of 10 per business) you will receive a £1,000 government incentive. You will also be instrumental in shaping the skills and experience of young people in your community, in turn helping you to develop a loyal and talented workforce.
To find out more about hiring someone on a traineeship click here.
Work experience
Payment for work experience or internships can vary, depending on whether the individual is a student. If they are paid workers, it must be at minimum wage and more information can be found here, on the Acas website.
The CIPD also has a 16-page booklet designed to support businesses to find potential employees of the future in another way. Offering internships and work experience is a great way to do this. Not only is a business getting exposure to a potential workforce, they are giving young people access to sectors that are sometimes difficult to access, they are giving these younger people more idea of what can be achieved and what is needed and in the long run, could be helping close regional skills gaps and unemployment levels. For more information on all these issues visit the CIPD website.
Sector-based work academies
The Sector-Based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) offers fully-funded training opportunities to help prepare people to find work in an area they might not be familiar.
The academy lasts for six weeks and is made up of a pre-employment industry-specific training programme, it is followed by a work experience placement with a guaranteed job interview at the end.
Resources
CIPD
- CIPD has support factsheets about the recruitment process that can guide employers to find the best candidates including a recruitment flow-chart to help negotiate in-house promotion and new hires
- CIPD Guide - What you need to do to take on staff: from job adverts to interviews and induction.
- Talent Management Factsheet from CIPD
Be an age friendly employer
A guide to help employers start taking action on age from Business in the Community.
Future proofing youth recruitment
Business in the Community has created a best practice guide for employers on how to make jobs attractive and accessible for all young people.
Inspiring, hiring and growing diverse talent
This toolkit from Business in the Community provides practical guidance to help businesses inspire future talent, recruit inclusively and provide an enabling work environment to help employees thrive.
