Recruiters looking at inclusive hiring have fresh official evidence to work with. On 10 September 2026, the Department for Work and Pensions published its second set of official statistics for Connect to Work, a voluntary supported-employment programme for disabled people, people with health conditions and others facing complex barriers to work. The accompanying government update said 25,000 people were receiving support and 4,100 had moved into employment with the programme's support. For recruitment firms, those figures are not a ready-made sourcing forecast, but they are a useful reminder that candidate pathways into work increasingly involve local employment support as well as conventional job advertising. The official Connect to Work statistics provide the underlying release.
Understand what the programme does before approaching the topic
Connect to Work is designed around personalised employment support rather than acting as a recruitment agency. Recruiters should keep that distinction clear. The programme can help people prepare for and move into employment, while employers and recruiters remain responsible for their own vacancy requirements, assessment processes and hiring decisions. Treating supported employment as simply another candidate database would misunderstand the role of the service.
Review whether vacancy requirements describe the real job
Inclusive recruitment starts with the vacancy itself. A specification that contains inherited requirements, vague expectations or unnecessary barriers can narrow the field before a recruiter has spoken to anyone. Teams can ask hiring managers which requirements are genuinely essential, which can be learned after appointment and which working arrangements are operational necessities rather than preferences. That produces a clearer brief for every candidate, not only those receiving employment support.
Make the candidate journey easier to explain
Candidates entering work through different support routes may need the recruitment process explained clearly. Recruiters can set out the stages, expected timings, interview format, required documents and named contact without making assumptions about a person's circumstances. A predictable process reduces avoidable uncertainty and gives candidates a better opportunity to decide whether the role and employer are suitable.
Ask about adjustments without making assumptions
A recruiter does not need to infer what support a candidate might require from a disclosed condition or from participation in an employment programme. A better approach is to explain the relevant recruitment stage and ask whether an adjustment is needed for that stage. Any request can then be handled through the employer's appropriate process. This keeps the conversation focused on access to recruitment rather than speculation about capability.
Prepare hiring managers for supported candidate pathways
Some hiring managers may be unfamiliar with candidates who have worked with employment-support services. Recruiters can help by explaining the recruitment process they control and by separating verified information from assumptions. The presence of external support does not itself indicate whether a candidate is suitable for a vacancy. Selection should remain tied to the role and the employer's fair assessment process.
Use programme statistics carefully in client conversations
The September release provides evidence about referrals, starts, first earnings and job outcomes within Connect to Work. It does not establish that a particular employer will suddenly receive more suitable applicants, nor does it show that every sector has the same opportunity. Recruiters using the data in market updates should link back to the official publication and avoid turning national programme numbers into unsupported claims about a specific desk or vacancy.
Map local relationships where they genuinely help
Recruitment firms serving a defined region can learn which employment-support routes operate locally and how employers are expected to engage with them. That knowledge can make a recruiter more useful when a client wants to broaden access to vacancies. Any relationship should have a clear purpose: improving information, understanding referral routes or making recruitment stages easier to navigate, rather than collecting contacts without a practical hiring need.
Treat inclusive hiring as a process discipline
The wider lesson from Connect to Work is that labour-market participation is not only about publishing more vacancies. Recruitment processes also need to be understandable, relevant and accessible to people arriving through different routes. Recruiters can contribute by qualifying roles properly, communicating stages clearly, recording adjustment requests accurately and helping hiring managers judge candidates against the work that actually needs to be done.