Aspire becomes first staffing firm to achieve Inclusive+ Recruiter status for entire company

Specialist digital media and marketing recruitment firm, Aspire, has become the first staffing company to put its entire team through the APSCo Inclusive+ Recruiter training programme.

Inclusive+ Recruiter is an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) training programme designed specifically for the recruitment sector, delivered by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) and designed by Adam Tobias from Inventum Group.

The course addresses the challenges faced by recruiters in supporting their clients to attract and retain a more diverse workforce including

• Building confidence and making the business case for ED&I
• Supporting clients on their ED & I journey
• Unconscious bias and how it impacts the recruitment process;
• Attracting diverse and underrepresented talent through inclusive job ads and building an inclusive brand;
• Inclusive recruitment practices, what they are and how to implement them
• An introduction to the Equality Act and the most important elements to consider before and during the recruitment process.

According to Paul Farrer, Founder of Aspire, this was a natural move for the business to support its diverse culture:

“As a business, diversity and inclusion is part of our core. Not only have we inserted diversity clauses into our client terms, but we’ve also built diversity into our own people development and culture. As a sector that is so heavily involved in, and responsible for, building diverse workforces, it makes absolute sense that recruiters themselves should have an understanding of diversity, inclusion, biases and equality. Historically we’ve had a diversity task force in place to both audit our business and keep ED&I at the top of our agenda, for this reason our new starters are also required to go through our own diversity training. We also support the APSCo Embrace Forum to help drive diversity across recruitment and I am sure those members will take a lead and follow suit.”

“While diversity training is a must for recruiters working directly with candidates, we put all staff forward for Inclusive+ Recruiter as it is our responsibility as business leaders to embrace and encourage diversity for all, therefore all our UK people regardless of level or job role are now accredited. I would highly recommend this training for others in the staffing sector. It’s tailored specifically to recruiters, which means it’s not only highly targeted, but it also provides tangible takeaways that staff can implement. Hats off to Adam Tobias and APSCO for developing this practical initiative.”

Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo added:

“Recruiters have a crucial role to play in improving diversity, equity and inclusion in global workforces. We developed this training to help equip staff in the sector with the tools to be more diverse and I’m delighted with the response we’ve had since Inclusive+ Recruiter was launched. To see Aspire put its entire business through the training is testament to the firm’s commitment and passion to the cause.”

ENDS
Press contact
Sadie McGrath
sadie@bluesky-pr.com
+44 (0)1582 797 958