We recently met with key business leaders, educational providers and top employers as part of a BusinessLDN roundtable focused on how to tackle the challenge of hiring a diverse workforce and finding new ways of creating accessible routes to market for all.
Across all organisations, some themes were clear: funding remains a barrier to enabling underrepresented groups to engage with opportunities, and many attendees shared the difficulty of convincing commercial businesses of the value of inclusion.
We also discussed the importance of community presence being visible, building trust, and creating partnerships that amplify impact. Insight days and pre-employment courses were praised for their ability to break down the intimidating aspects of work environments, while offering valuable networking opportunities.
The roundtable highlighted the importance of ensuring that businesses are offering ongoing engagement to underrepresented groups through group strategies and touchpoints, as well as how important it is to keep the skills gaps and diverse talent conversations alive within the business.
We had the privilege of listening to other organisations on similar journeys:
Thames Water
Thames Water highlighted the challenging operational environment in which they operate, but reaffirmed that an inclusive agenda remains a key priority. Their skills strategy is designed to address critical talent gaps, and inclusive recruitment practices are central to achieving this. By widening the talent pool, including partnerships that support individuals such as prison leavers, Thames Water is removing barriers and creating pathways into sustainable employment. This approach reflects their commitment to equity, building diverse teams, and ensuring the business has the skills it needs for the future.
Battersea Power Station
Battersea Power Station Development Company highlighted how inclusive practice is built into their development agreements and partnerships. Through their BASE Programme, they act as a job broker, ensuring vacancies are shared with the right groups and supported with tailored preparation. They touched on focusing on building an individual’s confidence and how it is all about getting someone into a role first, then helping them grow their skills further.
Talent Beyond Boundaries
Attendees heard from Talent Beyond Boundaries, an international organisation that looks at matching skilled displaced persons with employers that are facing skills shortages across the UK. They do this by connecting employers directly to candidates that have a relevant skills match with critical roles at their organisation. This work is done utilising the Skilled Worker Visa route in the UK and they are currently feeding into the sponsorship review advising on a potential new Displaced Talent Visa route with the Home Office. They support refugees in applying for jobs in select destination countries, thus taking pressure off the asylum system to house and support them while they await further processing.
We’d like to thank everyone who attended the roundtable and to Victoria Armstrong, Jamia Jackson and Mark Hilton for organising this event with us.
At Just IT, we’ve always believed that people’s journeys into work are unique, and the way we support them must reflect that. With partnerships across more than 80 organisations, including councils, community groups, and employers, we take a hyper-local approach. This means getting out into boroughs where challenges are most acute, raising awareness, and building solutions in collaboration with the people who know those communities best.
Our support is offered via multiple routes of travel:
- Community coaching and partner referrals for those who need additional help.
- Unique journeys for each individual candidate, it’s important to take individual approaches towards a learner journey.
- Barrierless recruitment practices, no CVs, just portfolios that demonstrate real skills and capability.
What ties all this together is a focus on removing barriers and meeting people where they are. Every candidate has their own story, and we want employers to see their potential, not skills and experience noted on paper.
If you are interested in participating in a similar round-table discussion with your business, we would love to speak with you.
To find out more, contact Just It here.