The Welsh Government’s – Fair Recruitment Practices Workshop


The Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for Public Appointments in Wales was launched in February 2020 to increase the diversity of public leaders in Wales. One of the key recommendations that the strategy sets out is delivery of diversity and inclusion training and development, including fair recruitment training for individuals involved in public appointment recruitment panels, including Chairs of public bodies, Senior Independent Panel Members and some Civil Servants.

The training’s focus is around ensuring the public appointment recruitment and selection process is conducted objectively, consistently and in a non-discriminatory manner with the aim of increasing the number of diverse candidates who are recommended to Ministers for appointment.

Fair Recruitment Practices Workshop

If you’re interested in attending the The Welsh Government’s – Fair Recruitment Practices Workshop, please register your interest in the contact box provided at the bottom of the page.

Workshop summary

Designed to help you recruit the right person for the job, this interactive, half-day recruitment training workshop will help you understand the recruitment and selection process and how to ensure your approaches are thoughtful, inclusive, and consistent. Each workshop will start at 09:30am  and finish at 12:30pm.

With a particular focus on diversity and inclusion, this workshop will give you time to reflect meaningfully on how you approach recruitment in a supportive and confidential environment. You will get to network with other panel members from across Wales as well as having the opportunity to create a personalised action plan to enhance your recruitment practices.

Workshop overview

This half day workshop covers:

  • Setting the scene: understanding your context
  • The business case for diversity
  • The Seven Principles of Public Life
  • Inclusive practices and equalities legislation
  • Making reasonable adjustments for applicants and candidates
  • Inclusive language and ‘call-ins’ on adverts
  • Unconscious bias and mitigating against it
  • Name free recruitment
  • The Selection Panel: the impact of diverse panels
  • Positive Action
  • Action planning for the future

The session will include a variety of practical exercises and participants will receive digital resources to support their learning. Each attendee will have access to our year-long Call-Back Service; so, they can contact their facilitator after the workshop for individual advice and support.

Your Facilitator: Sal Pearman (They/She)

Sal has been working in Human Resource Development for over 10 years with a focus on Equality and Identity and ensuring all staff can thrive irrespective of their background, traits, or beliefs.

Originally trained as a field archaeologist, Sal started in People Development in 2006 when they managed an archaeological education centre as part of a research team at the University of Reading. Since then, Sal has specialised in Human Resource Development, Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Consent, Anti-Bullying and Harassment, Disability Awareness, Wellbeing, Positive Workplaces, and organisation-wide culture projects.

Sal holds a CIPD Level 7 and an MSc in Human Resource Development and Consultancy from Birkbeck, University of London where their research focus has been around the lived experience of working mothers and the impact of inclusion on organisational culture. Since completing their masters Sal has balanced delivering facilitation projects with working as an Organisational Psychologist. Sal combines their decade of practical experience with research and working internationally to ensure the advice they give is robust and anchored in best practice.

Sal is also a Fellow of The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), a THRIVE Career Mentor, a Belbin practitioner, and a FIRO Business practitioner. Using a facilitative and collaborative approach, Sal likes to make their workshops practical, driven by research and best practice, and tailored to the needs, interests, and challenges of each group.

Sal has recently worked with Mind, Peabody Foundation, John Innes Research Centre, Surrey County Council, Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, TATE, LEWIS Global, Quakers in Britain, The British Library, NESTA, Picturehouse, Bristol Students’ Union, EVERPRESS, and The University of Kent.

Before your workshop

To get the most from the webinar it would be great if each attendee could take 15 minutes to consider the following:

  1. Look at the workshop overview and reflect upon which areas you feel most confident and any areas where you would be keen to learn more. This will form part of your introduction to the session.
  2. It would be helpful if you spent some time reflecting upon the nine protected traits of the Equality Act 2010. These are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
  3. When you think about diversifying talent, which areas need extra representation within your Public Body?
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