Recruiting for DPS Employment Support Projects: Meeting the Challenge

Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) backed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) play a vital role in delivering employment support services. These projects are designed to offer flexible, localised support to jobseekers, often under tight timeframes and funding models. While essential, recruiting for DPS contracts presents unique challenges: roles are frequently short-term, sometimes part-time, and can be difficult to fill quickly.

Providers need to balance the demands of contract delivery with building a track record of successful outcomes. Consistent performance on smaller, flexible contracts is often a stepping stone to securing larger, more lucrative contracts in the future. Therefore, finding the right staff, even on a fixed-term or part-time basis, is critical to long-term growth.

Hiring for these roles requires a strategic approach. We have supported providers by tapping into a unique talent pool of candidates who are actively looking for part-time work or have recently completed roles where funding came to an end. These candidates bring experience, adaptability, and the enthusiasm needed to make an immediate impact.

Critically, finding local people who know the turf is a huge advantage. Candidates familiar with community locations, who may already have strong links with Jobcentre Plus, and who are experienced in delivering grassroots employment programmes, bring invaluable start-up know-how. Their community insight and operational understanding mean they can hit the ground running and help projects achieve early momentum.

Our ability to match providers with the right people at the right time has been a key driver in helping organisations meet their delivery targets. Furthermore, with our automated referencing software, we can complete reference checks quickly and efficiently, ensuring your new hires are ready to start without delay.

If you need help filling roles for your next DPS project, we’re here to ensure you have the talent needed to deliver results.