Recruitment Agencies team up with Homelessness Sector in exciting new Employment Project

An innovative new partnership that aims to get long term unemployed people back to work with the help of commercial recruitment agencies has been launched with EQUAL funding from the European Social Fund.



ProspectUs (a major recruitment consultancy specialising in the not for profit sector) in partnership with St Mungoís and Connection St Martinís is managing the liaison between candidates referred by the voluntary sector and commercial recruitment agencies.

Recruitment Consultants report a major candidate shortage in many industry sectors across London. Candidate acquisition and retention is becoming more and more difficult as the job markets become more buoyant. At the same time, government bodies and voluntary organisations are offering support and guidance to long term unemployed looking for work.

This project will combine the two to give unemployed people a real chance of getting back into the job market by using them to fill the candidate shortages faced by employment agencies. Candidates actively looking for work will be supported and mentored by homelessness sector job coaches until the point when they are ready to apply for work. At this point, they will be referred to ProspectUs where they will be interviewed and assessed by an experienced Recruitment Consultant.

Using their solid knowledge and experience, ProspectUs will then decide whether the candidate is job ready and market successful candidates onto their network of specially chosen partner agencies.

This project is innovative because it is the first time that a commercial agency has been awarded funding to play an important role in a project of this kind without looking to benefit its own bottom line. It is part of a wider project exploring different ways of helping unemployed people with insecure housing back into the job market.

David Gold, CEO of ProspectUs said:
ìIt is an honour to be using our knowledge and experience to support people with multiple disadvantages to compete for jobs on an even playing field. The project could lead to a new kind of charity / private sector partnership.î