Over a year ago I had the pleasure of being introduced to the team at Reed In Partnership. Of course I’d heard of Reed, but somehow the existence of this service had completely passed me by. They shared the work that they do and I was completely bowled over, not only by the work, but the people there too.
As the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, Reed in Partnership led the Department for Work and Pensions’ prime provider partners in the development of a new website to support employers to quickly and effectively fill vacancies. We were incredibly happy to be involved in it’s delivery.
The DWPPartners.co.uk site enables employers across England and Wales to connect with a local DWP partner to quickly fill vacancies – for free. Each partner is commissioned by DWP to deliver a service that enables jobseekers to access sustainable work with a local employer. This might include people who are classified as long-term unemployed or people with health conditions and disabilities that may have been preventing them from accessing work.
Close support will be offered by the local partner to manage an effective recruitment process that follows the latest guidelines on safe working practices.
The service also includes:
- Specialist advice on health and wellbeing in the workplace
- Candidate screening and interview coordination
- Skills training and induction services
The site will alleviate pressure on Jobcentre Plus centres responding to an increase in claimants driven by the current pandemic and enable employers to access the wide talent pool of jobseekers looking to find a new role. The service is fully funded by the government and so entirely free to employer who use it to fulfil their recruitment needs.
The Prime Providers Partnership is comprised of Employer Services representatives from Reed In Partnership, Ingeus, Seetec Pluss, ShawTrust and Remploy and Maximus. All have taken on this unique challenge of delivering a shared service for the benefit of the employers and jobseekers they serve.
I’m so pleased that AnyGood? has been involved in this work. It has grown our appreciation of the services available from all of these extraordinary companies and the people who are involved.
If, like me, you’d not heard of it either, head over to DWPPartners.co.uk and check it out.