New search engine filter giving people a direct line to Disability Confident employers.

More than 46,000 people have used a new search engine filter giving them a direct line to Disability Confident employers since the tool was introduced 6 months ago, new figures show.

Jobseekers have been able to search for vacancies with Disability Confident employers on the government’s Find a Job website since November 2018.

And today it emerged tens of thousands of prospective employees have taken advantage – evidence that there is a growing demand for opportunities with inclusive employers.

Disability Confident is the government’s flagship disability employment scheme which supports employers of all sizes to recruit and retain disabled staff.

More than 11,000 employers across the country have already signed up, with the number growing steadily every week.

Disability inclusion needs to be a priority

A recent Diversity & Inclusivity in the Workplace survey by Wildgoose found that over half of UK employees feel disability inclusion is the most important aspect of diversity that should be tackled in their workplace.

Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Justin Tomlinson said: “Recruiting disabled talent isn’t an act of charity – it’s what smart employers are doing to get ahead of the competition.

“There are 7.6 million working-age people in the UK who have a disability, and many of them are more than able to work.

“It’s no longer good enough for employers to make excuses. With the support of Disability Confident, your business can reap the many rewards of being inclusive.”

Helping job seekers to easily find vacancies with Disability Confident employers is part of a wider drive to ensure the scheme is delivering real job opportunities for disabled people.

Confident employers rising in number

The latest research shows that Disability Confident is having a significant impact, with half of all employers recruiting someone with a disability or long–term health condition as a direct result of joining the scheme, rising to two thirds for larger employers.

Microsoft recently reached the highest level of the scheme to become a Disability Confident Leader by demonstrating that they are leading the way on disability employment within the tech industry.

Chief Operating Officer at Microsoft UK Clare Barclay said: “At Microsoft we believe that diversity and inclusion leads to better performing teams and higher quality output, leading to better and more relevant products and experiences for our customers. By empowering people to be the best they can be, the culture that is created by those values and principles feeds through to our partners and customers.

“We’re proud to be a Disability Confident employer and are committed to improving our approach to helping people with a disability thrive at work, as well as encouraging our 30,000 partners, who play such a pivotal role in driving change in the UK technology industry, to do the same. We hope that by sharing our learnings, other organisations can accelerate their disability inclusion programmes and hire great talent. Together, we can reduce the unemployment rate for people with disabilities.”

>See also: Sainsbury’s and Omnicom announce firm commitment to disability inclusion

Businesses must make a commitment in order to reach the first level of the scheme, such as offering an interview to disabled people or improving support for existing employees.

To move up to the second level, businesses must prove they are going the extra mile to make sure disabled people get a fair chance.

And to reach the third and highest level, employers must demonstrate that they are acting as a champion for the scheme within their industry, encouraging other businesses to become more inclusive.

Keep Britain working

The Find a Job website is powered by job search engine Adzuna.

Co-founder of Adzuna Andrew Hunter said: “It’s really encouraging to see 46,000 searches on Find a Job since the ‘Disability Confident’ badge launched but we’re keen to encourage more businesses to think about what they can do to be more inclusive – and to ultimately place the ‘Disability Confident’ badge on more job postings.

“We’re proud to be working with DWP as part of this meaningful change to give job seekers the information they need to take control of their careers and to ultimately, help match people to better, more fulfilling jobs and keep Britain working.”

>See also: How small workplace adjustments can lead to big wins for disabled people