Employers across Oxfordshire are being invited to take part in a different kind of recruitment event this November – one which puts young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) firmly at the centre of the conversation.

Oxfordshire County Council’s Reverse Recruitment Fair 2026 will take place at the Kassam Stadium on Thursday 26th November, bringing together employers, young people, families and education professionals to explore more inclusive routes into the workplace.

Delivered with Skills Builder Partnership and involving partners including Connect to Work, Enterprise Oxfordshire and Oxfordshire Parent Carers Forum (OxPCF), the event aims to help employers discover talent that can too often be overlooked through traditional recruitment processes.

Turning recruitment on its head

As its name suggests, a Reverse Recruitment Fair turns the conventional recruitment model around.

Rather than employers arriving to promote vacancies and assess potential candidates, young people lead the conversation, sharing their skills, interests, strengths and career ambitions directly with businesses.

Employers are there primarily to listen, ask questions and explore what opportunities their organisation might be able to provide in the future – whether through workplace visits, careers talks, work experience, supported internships, apprenticeships or ultimately employment.

Importantly, businesses do not need to have live vacancies to take part.

The emphasis is on making connections, understanding the potential of young people with SEND and opening doors which could lead to opportunities in the future.

Why should Oxfordshire businesses get involved?

For employers, the Reverse Recruitment Fair provides an opportunity to meet young people aged 14 and above from across Oxfordshire and gain first-hand insight into the talents, perspectives and abilities they could bring to different workplaces.

Young people will be supported by one-page skills profiles and the conversations will focus on strengths rather than conventional recruitment criteria.

Employers will also be supported to recognise that young people may communicate and present themselves in different ways, creating flexible conversations that allow individuals to demonstrate their strengths in ways that work for them.

For participating organisations, the event offers the chance to:

• discover future talent and strengthen recruitment pipelines;
• develop a better understanding of inclusive recruitment;
• explore practical ways of providing work experience and employment pathways;
• gain insight into Skills Builder Partnership’s essential skills framework; and
• demonstrate a commitment to social impact, diversity and inclusive growth.

There is no expectation that employers will offer a job or placement on the day. Instead, businesses are encouraged to arrive with an open mind and consider what practical opportunities they might be able to make available subsequently.

These could be as simple as welcoming an individual or small group for a workplace visit, delivering a careers talk in a school or providing work experience.

Preparing employers to make a difference

Participating businesses will not be expected simply to turn up without preparation.

Ahead of the Fair, employers will receive information about the format and practical arrangements, alongside guidance designed to support positive, strengths-based conversations with young people.

An employer preparation session is also planned for early November, introducing inclusive recruitment approaches and the Skills Builder framework. The intention is to ensure that employers and young people arrive with greater confidence and a shared language around skills and strengths.

Why this matters

The need to create better pathways between education and employment is significant.

Information accompanying the Fair highlights that nearly one million young people aged between 16 and 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training – approximately one in eight young people.

For those with SEND, the barriers can be greater still. The event information points to a 29.7 percentage point disability employment gap in 2025, illustrating the scale of the challenge in creating fair access to employment.

These figures reflect issues highlighted in the Young people and work: interim report, published in May 2026, and underline why early engagement between young people and employers can be so valuable.

Businesses have an important role to play – not simply by recruiting, but by helping young people understand workplaces, develop confidence and skills, build networks and see a realistic pathway towards employment.

The Reverse Recruitment Fair provides a practical opportunity for Oxfordshire employers to become part of that process.

Event details

Reverse Recruitment Fair 2026
Thursday 26th November 2026
Kassam Stadium, Oxfordshire

The day begins with employer arrival, networking and lunch from 11am to 1pm, followed by two sessions with young people, educators and parents/carers between 1pm and 5pm.

Employers interested in participating are asked to register their interest by 30th September 2026.

Full details of the event, including the timetable, information for employers and the QR code linking to the Expression of Interest Form, can be found in the Reverse Recruitment Fair 2026 document at the foot of this article.

For questions about the event, employers can contact lydia.martin@oxfordshire.gov.uk.

For Oxfordshire businesses prepared to listen, learn and think differently about where their future talent might come from, this is an opportunity to help unlock potential, widen opportunity and contribute to a more inclusive workforce across the county.

Reverse Recruitment Fair 2026 employers extended deadline 30th September