Prospective retail employees apply for jobs blindfolded

In Vilvoorde on Wednesday, prospective employees applied for jobs blindfolded at six major retail chains. Employers also could not see the candidates during the first five minutes of the interview. Blindfolded applications should lead to a fairer selection and should give more opportunities to job seekers who find it harder to get a job.

Flemish public employment service VDAB and HR player Accent joined forces on Wednesday for a unique job fair. Employers and future employees took part in blindfolded job interviews. This way, the two companies want to explore more inclusive recruitment strategies. The new way of recruitment should especially help people who are further away from the labour market, such as the long-term unemployed. 

The initiative is part of Accent's open-minded hiring strategy to ensure a fairer selection process without bias. This already included the use of anonymised CVs. VDAB has also been taking steps towards more inclusive recruitment. These initiatives are much-needed, according to the two companies. There are still too often biases involved in selection procedures. 

The job fair attracted many retail companies in particular, including Colruyt and Albert Heijn, as they still have many vacancies. Moreover, these jobs are mostly learnable, so it is easier to hire people just based on their motivation and attitude. In the future, Accent and VDAB hope to attract more diverse business sectors.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Supermarket Colruyt participates in Brussels job fair, 2008 © BELGA PHOTO HERWIG VERGULT}