Business in the Community: Economic inactivity pilot case study

Business in the Community: Economic inactivity pilot case study

Programme purpose

The Scottish Government funded Business in the Community (BITC) to deliver a pilot programme. This was part of the Scottish Government’s programme to support people who are ‘economically inactive’ to enter, remain and progress in work.

BITC delivered a series of sessions split into two workstreams:

• Inclusive recruitment and inclusive progression workshops to staff responsible for recruitment and progression
• Upskilling for people managers covering a variety of topics over six sessions.

Topics covered in the second workstream were: health and wellbeing for people managers, neurodiversity at work, conscious inclusion, supporting carers and flexible working, menopause at work and mental health – focus on men and young people.

Programme delivery

12 sessions were delivered to 86 participants between October and December 2025. Eight public sector bodies took part in the pilot:

• Scottish Water
• Qualifications Scotland (formerly Scottish Qualifications Agency)
• Scottish Enterprise
• Glasgow City Council
• Public Health Scotland
• The City of Edinburgh Council
• Business Stream
• Revenue Scotland.

BITC's Inclusion and Wellbeing Advisers brought specialist expertise and independent facilitation to these topics. By bringing participants together, the sessions fostered valuable cross-sector learning and collaboration.

In addition to the workshops, participating public bodies were supported with:

• 1:1 advice calls with an expert BITC Inclusion Adviser, looking at organisation-specific challenges
• Supplementary resources serving as reference points and enabling shared learning across organisations.

Programme impact and feedback

Of the session participants who completed a post-session survey:

• 96% were satisfied with the content of the sessions.
• 98% were satisfied with the delivery of the sessions.
• 91% felt that the sessions were engaging.
• 91% felt better informed on the topics covered.
• 91% felt more equipped to take action as a result of the session.

As a result of the sessions, participants have made changes within their organisations, including:

• updated candidate guides and application forms
• moved towards interview questions given in advance
• reviewed end-to-end recruitment processes
• modified assessment/interview formats
• used inclusive language checking tools for job adverts
• developed aspiring leaders learning, taking into account barriers faced.

Practical recommendations for future training rollout

Future training should build on the successes of this programme, enhancing its reach. Practical recommendations include:

• Focus on group-based sharing and support alongside training tailored to programme-identified topics.
• Introduce larger cohort sizes to enable greater uptake and organisational impact.
• Consider a hybrid delivery format, with a combination of in-person and virtual sessions.
• Bring leaders together to engage with inclusion as a driver to reduce economic inactivity.