ThriveMap Wins Best Candidate Assessment Tool For Berkeley’s Diversity Results

ThriveMap’s innovative Realistic Job Assessments (RJAs) have earned top honors at the In-house Recruitment Awards, winning the Best Candidate Assessment category.

The award recognises ThriveMap’s pivotal role in transforming Berkeley Group’s apprenticeship recruitment strategy, resulting in groundbreaking diversity outcomes for the construction sector.

Revolutionising recruitment in construction

The construction industry faces a critical skills shortage and persistent diversity challenges. With women comprising just 11% of the workforce and ethnic minorities only 5.4%, Berkeley set out to attract a broader, more inclusive talent pool.

Partnering with ThriveMap, the company replaced traditional CV screening with bespoke RJAs tailored to identify potential, foster inclusion, and align candidates with the realities of the role.

How ThriveMap’s RJAs Made the Difference

ThriveMap’s Realistic Job Assessments are custom-built simulations that immerse candidates in “a day in the life” of the job. For Berkeley’s apprenticeship program, this meant:

• Job Realism: Candidates gained a clear understanding of the demands, expectations, and culture of the role.
• Fairness and Inclusivity: Blind hiring eliminated CV bias, leveling the playing field for underrepresented candidates.
• Skills-Based Focus: Assessments prioritised potential and practical capabilities over prior experience / opportunities.

ThriveMap’s rigorous methodology ensured that the assessment was tailored to Berkeley’s specific needs. By gathering insights from current employees and industry experts, the assessments accurately reflected the job while aligning with Berkeley’s hiring criteria.

Award-Winning impact

The results of the partnership were transformative:

• Diversity Breakthroughs: 32% of hires in Berkeley’s apprenticeship program are now women, far surpassing the industry average of 11%.
• Improved Candidate Engagement: Feedback highlighted the fairness and accessibility of the RJAs. One candidate remarked, “Not having to provide a CV meant I could focus on my potential, not my past experience.”
• Higher Retention: Hiring managers reported better alignment between candidates and job expectations, reducing early attrition.

The award celebrates how ThriveMap’s approach addressed systemic challenges in construction recruitment, showcasing the potential of Realistic Job Assessments to drive measurable diversity and retention improvements.

A huge shoutout to the incredible competition in the Best Candidate Assessment category at the In-house Recruitment Awards. We’re honored to have taken the top spot, especially among such standout names and solutions. Congratulations to Unilever (Sova Assessment) for their runner-up position 🥈 and Sky (Cappfinity) for securing 🥉. Finalists included amazing projects from Alcumus, SGN, So Energy (AssessFirst), and Thales (Amberjack),—all showcasing the transformative power of innovative hiring approaches.

A blueprint for inclusive hiring

The success of this initiative demonstrates the power of innovative hiring methods to tackle deep-rooted industry challenges. By focusing on skills and potential rather than traditional metrics, ThriveMap has set a new benchmark for inclusive recruitment practices.

Berkeley’s Future Skills Manager, Catherine Hawkett, praised the collaboration, stating: “ThriveMap’s Realistic Job Assessments have completely reshaped how we approach recruitment. The process is fairer, faster, and better aligned with our values.”

Ready to build your award-winning recruitment process?

Let us help you to improve diversity, bridge the candidate expectation gap, and reduce attrition. Book a demo today to see how ThriveMap’s Realistic Job Assessments can transform entry-level hiring for your organisation.