Q&A: THE ACCESS GROUP & ETEACH
Dream team Rhys Howells R
hys Howells, Managing Director at Eteach Group and Emma Slater Head of Product (Education) at Access Education, speak to Education Today about the partnership between their organisations.
Emma Slater
What was the core motivation behind your decision to partner with each other – and why now? And what aspect of the partnership proved more valuable than you initially expected, and how might that influence your approach moving forward? WRH & ES: Our partnership addresses schools’ frustration with fragmented systems that create duplicated work and inefficiency. With MATs growing and recruitment volumes increasing, the disconnect between recruitment platforms and HR systems was wasting valuable HR team time through manual data entry. The timing reflects schools’ acute workforce shortages and need for efficient talent attraction and retention solutions. What surprised us most was the immediate impact on candidate conversion rates through smoother application, screening and onboarding processes. This insight into the complete hiring journey beyond offer and acceptance has influenced our future planning to develop deeper connectivity and explore Access’s broader service offerings for our mutual customer base. Shaw Education Trust – one of the UK’s largest trusts – cut their time-to-fill by 65% with SchoolRecruiter, by modernising how they attract and engage education talent.
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www.education-today.co.uk
How does the Access Education Suite enhance the candidate experience and make education careers more attractive? ES: The Access Education Suite creates a seamless candidate-to-colleague journey from recruitment through retirement. Candidates benefit from Eteach’s market-leading jobs platform and branded career sites, with deep integration streamlining screening and onboarding checks including Right to Work and DBS verification. Once in post, staff access the complete Access Evo environment: CPD through Access LMS, Access Engage for internal communication and culture-building, and Access Applause for celebrating achievements. Our comprehensive wellbeing support includes salary benefits offering discounts from top retailers and leisure activities, plus Early Pay enabling staff to access earned salary ahead of payday for emergencies or unexpected bills. Our performance tools ensure staff feel supported and invested in from day one. By removing recruitment friction and focusing on wellbeing, career growth and engagement, we make the education sector more attractive when retention is as critical as attraction.
With an integration a first of its kind, what else are Eteach doing differently to support trusts and schools? RH: Eteach pioneers innovative candidate attraction beyond traditional job boards, which only reach active jobseekers (less than a third of the market). Using cutting-edge social media
December 2025
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