Job Matching and Brokering
Job brokerage activities match people's skills and experience to
vacancies - thereby acting as a bridge to support unemployed
clients into sustained employment by working closely with clients
and employers. It can be an effective way to tackle worklessness
because:
- Clients receive personalised advice from a job broker who can
advise and prepare them for the recruitment process - i.e. the
application and interview process - and what the job entails.
- Strong, long-term relationships with employers can be developed
that bring about repeat business.
Effective job brokerage services have the following
characteristics:
- Embedded in and have a full understanding of the local labour
market.
- Provide a wide range of tailored supports to clients through
one-to-one personalised support from committed and high quality
staff.
- Work in partnership with other agencies to source additional
specialist services for clients.
- Have an employer-focussed approach that includes:
- Getting out and
developing strong links with employers through
specialist employer engagement staff.
- Setting out to the employer what the benefits are from
recruiting through the job broker as opposed to other recruitment
mechanisms. The benefits might include lower recruitment costs,
good quality candidates, access to a more diverse workforce, access
to an aftercare service, and improved retention
rates.- Understanding the needs and expectations of
employers. Specialist employer engagement staff with expertise in
the specific industries of employers assists in this process.
- Encouraging employers to modify their recruitment practices
so that they are prepared to take on unemployed (and potentially
higher risk) candidates. A strong relationship where the employer
trusts the judgement of the job broker assists in this
process.
- Preparing candidates appropriately for the job
opportunities based on the recruitment needs and expectations of
employers.
- Developing an effective and accurate job matching process
to ensure that employers' expectation are met.
- Provide an aftercare service for both the recruit and employer
to sustain the job outcome. The aftercare service should be
sufficiently flexible to provide light-touch to intensive support
depending on the individual client and employer.
Specific consideration is needed around how job brokerage can
support clients further from the labour market into employment. Key
elements include:
- Ensuring that individuals are only referred to job brokers when
they are fully job ready. If they are not job ready, further
employability activities are required.
- Assessing clients not only for their initial job readiness but
also their likelihood of sustaining a particular job over the
longer-term. Such a risk/sustainability assessment helps to
anticipate future barriers to sustaining employment and indicate
the level of aftercare required.
- A wide range of jobs need to be secured that meet the diverse
needs of clients. Different job types, contract hours/shift
patterns and locations are needed that are attractive and practical
for the pipeline's clients. This will include:
- Jobs that are compatible with
childcare/school hours for lone parents.
- Jobs and workplaces that cater to individuals with a
disability or health problem.
Due to the employer interface, a further critical aspect is that
job brokerage must operate in a similar way to commercial
employment/recruitment agencies - i.e. professional and meeting the
employers' needs.
Providers of job brokerage support include:
- Jobcentre Plus Personal Advisers
- Work Programme providers
- Recruitment Agencies