Businesses have a moral obligation to get the long-term jobless back into work
When talking to HR directors from top FTSE companies it never
fails to surprise, or disappoint me, that there is a genuine view that the unemployed are workshy and feckless. They simply are not.
The unemployed, particularly in a recession, are among the most skilled people of working age. Yet there is a prejudice against employing those who are jobless when you can attract someone from another organisation. I am not suggesting employers should be taking potential employees without the right skills, motivation and attitude for their business but it is up to companies such as A4e to make sure that we match the right unemployed person with the right organisation so that both can thrive.
Efficiency has driven recruitment online where unemployed candidates are sifted out automatically by an electronic process. Compare this to the good, old-fashioned principle of meeting job-seekers to find out if they are truly right for your business.
Directors tell me they have a bottom line to hit and because they need the best people, dipping into the unemployment pool isn't what they want to do. But responsibility needs to start at the top.
While it is true often that the long-term unemployed have barriers that do need to be overcome – confidence, low self-esteem, mental health or childcare issues –companies like ours clear those obstacles long before candidates go in front of an employer.
We aim to help individuals and communities prosper. But let me be clear, we are running a business not a charity. We have taken a hard commercial model where we have to spend millions of pounds worth of working capital delivering pre-employment training before we even get an outcome. The government pays us if we sustain people in a job for a minimum of six months.
Working with companies such as ours employers can cut their costs of acquiring new employees and be more certain about getting someone who is more culturally aligned to the business. This should improve sustainment rate.
Failure to engage means failing the communities we operate in and letting down future generations. Corporate social responsibility cannot be the department that just sits on the side of an organisation. We must do more for the communities in which we live to help them do well.
There is a lot of debate about enterprise creation and the government has announced great incentives that are going to go directly to employers as wage subsidies for hiring the unemployed.
It will only be employers, whether private or public sector, who can pull people from unemployment and into sustainable employment to get the economy moving again.
Andrew Dutton is group chief executive of A4e
