Job Centre Plus (DWP) Employer Adviser business support
Released On 18th Jan 2024
There is a wealth of information and support available – either directly or via Hans and Tom – the Employer Advisers based at Yeovil Job Centre.
An overview of some of the things we can discuss to support your business, your recruitment, and your retention are listed below.
This list is not exhaustive, and we’ve a wonderful luxury where we can be creative in trying either existing established practices or new, innovative ways to work with our employers, and support people to move forward – towards or into – paid employment, and we’ll be happy to discuss any of the above points or others that may spring to mind, and answer any questions you might have.
Direct Recruitment Support – Interview Days & CV Matching
We have the luxury of a good office space in which to hold Employer recruitment events. We’re able to cascade pertinent points of your vacancies to our Work Coach team, for them to source suitable candidates from their caseloads and book a diary of people for you to meet with. Historically, the turnout rates that we get are higher than interviews booked by employer through Indeed applications (based on employer feedback), and we have great job start results from these events.
Alternatively, as we are only too aware that time is one of our most precious resources, if you’re unable to take a morning out of your business, we can seek and forward suitable CVs to you, to contact candidates directly, and invite in to meet you at your premises at a convenient time.
Disability Confident Scheme
An excellent way to publicly demonstrate your commitment to supporting people with disabilities into work, and any of your existing workforce who have – or in the future may acquire – a disability.
According to the Office of National Statistics, in 2021 across England & Wales, 17.8% of the population (10.4 million people) have a disability. And so many people within this group have excellent knowledge, experience and skillsets that with simple reasonable adjustments can make valuable contributions to businesses.
Disability Confident employer scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The welcome pack which you’d receive should you sign up:
Welcome to Disability Confident (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Parts 1 and 2 in the link below gives some great information about why an employer should recruit disabled people, and help with doing so;
Employing disabled people and people with health conditions - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Access to Work
This is a government scheme, designed to provide funding for any individual who requires an adjustment to be made to support them to gain or maintain employment, where that adjustment could not be considered to be ‘reasonable’ to be funded for by their employer.
Access to Work: factsheet for customers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
SWAPs (Sector-based Work Academy Programmes)
These are courses we can develop and offer to candidates, delivered by a local college in partnership with Job Centre Plus, whereby an employer would offer a guaranteed interview on successful completion of the course.
It’s great to run them face to face, though can also be ran virtually, and funding is available (on a case-by-case basis) to obtain the necessary tech for participants to be able to attend.
They can be of great benefit, because participants get a guaranteed route to meeting with an employer, and for the employer, you get to meet with candidates who already have gone through some element of training in readiness for a role. (Customer Service L1 as an example, though could be anything really).
Sector-Based Work Academy Programme (SWAPs) - JobHelp
Work Trials
A great way to ‘Try before you buy’! It gives both the candidate and the employer a chance to see whether they’re a good match for each other, without having committed to a contract. We feel that a week should be long enough for this, and the employer should not pay the candidate for the hours worked – they will remain in receipt of benefit for the duration of the work trial. There must be a vacancy available for a work trial to take place.
Jobcentre Plus help for recruiters: Work trials - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Work Experience
A great way to support someone who may be further from the paid jobs market, move closer to it. This is an opportunity to have a member of staff, ideally for 30h per week be part of the team for a period of 6 weeks – though these numbers can be tailored for the individual. There does not have to be a vacancy attached to the end of the experience, and again the participant is not expected to be paid by the employer.
Work experience: employer guide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity is acknowledging difference such as sex and sexual orientation, race, religion and disability. Inclusion is valuing these differences so that staff have equal opportunities and thrive at work.
We unequivocally support diverse and inclusive approaches to recruitment and work forces. Additional support is available to anyone who requires it, and there is a wealth of information available online about how this approach can be adopted and/or developed or championed by businesses.
Below is a link to the 9 protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010.
Additionally, following link is our own department’s approach to Equality and Diversity, which might be useful to see what we as an employer are committed to doing;
Equality and diversity - Department for Work and Pensions - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Other Recruitment Support
In order to support our employers to identify candidates right for their business and available vacancies, the Job Centre’s Employer Advisors can learn all about the opportunities available, and cascade to their Work Coach teams – who meet our customers all day, every day – and introduce them to the employer, through the medium of job fairs, candidate tours, or the process listed in the first section above.
Additionally, we can use Group Information Sessions – delivering talks to larger numbers of people, face to face or virtually – to reach larger numbers of people.
There are also various external providers that are on hand to support people through their own individual journeys.
Retention
Vast amounts of time, energy and money – not to mention skills and talent – can be saved with Employee Retention. We are happy to discuss ways to maintain / improve retention levels within your business.
Additionally, if you have a specific case where you have a member of staff out of work with a health condition – with the permission of all parties we are able to collaborate with the employer and employee, in order to support that individual back into work. Please note, we are only able to intervene prior to a formal HR procedure beginning.
