Is the Disability Confident Scheme delivering for blind and partially sighted talent, or does it still fall short?

Date posted: 6th February 2026

By Sarah Cobb – Employment Development Intern

Recent UK news shows the government is trying to reform the Disability Confident Scheme to make it more effective in supporting disabled people into work and creating inclusive workplaces. However, my experience mirrors many others who have found that, in practice, the scheme can still leave blind and partially sighted candidates questioning whether they are being assessed on their skills and potential, or simply processed through a well-intentioned but flawed system.

I’m very new to the world of work, with my internship being my first proper job since graduating from university in July 2025 – it was only when I started to actively look for jobs that I came across the Disability Confident Scheme for the first time. A government scheme which, in theory, is there to support people with a disability into work. For over a decade, free resources and guidance have been provided to employers to break down barriers that disabled people face when in employment. Encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve the recruitment of disabled people. It sounds like the perfect scheme.

Yet, in the few short months I’ve been aware of the scheme, I’ve always felt it to be more of a hindrance than a help. Before I started my role as an Employment Development intern, I applied for a job in a library. The employer was Disability Confident. I was ultimately unsuccessful. Normally I wouldn’t mind – I accept it’s all part of the learning process – but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I’d only been invited to the interview because I qualified for the scheme. Like I was just a tick box exercise, a statistic. It was the not knowing the reason I’d been invited to the interview in the first place that affected me the most…was it because I was actually capable of doing the job I’d applied for – or was it purely because I qualified for the scheme? I guess I’ll never know.

My experience of the scheme, however, is only one of probably thousands of experiences and opinions. “Around 19,000 employers are signed up to the current Disability Confident scheme, benefitting an estimated 11 million paid employees in their organisations, [however there are still mixed reviews, with] two thirds of employers stating that “joining the scheme had a positive impact on their organisation” (Independent Living,Jan 2026). Sir Stephen Timms, the Social Security and Disability Minister, says that, while the scheme has “enormous potential”, he acknowledges that “for too long, it has not delivered enough support for disabled people, or for employers who want to recruit, retain and develop disabled people” (Witherington, BBC, Jan 2026).

In recent years, the scheme has received more and more criticism and critique, with many believing that an overhauling of the scheme is long overdue – but then the real question becomes apparent: who is the scheme primarily for? Employees or employers? Controversial arguments have arisen that, while the overhauling of the scheme doesn’t go far enough for disabled people, who really would benefit, it does for employers and their confidence in hiring disabled employees.

Job hunting is a challenging prospect and can be particularly daunting if you’re disabled and you’re applying to work at an organisation that is supposedly Disability Confident. You start to wonder if it’s the Disability Confident aspect that’s holding you back. Believe me, I know.

What’s helped me to not forget that applying for jobs is a two-way process: it’s not just about whether you are right for the organisation, but it’s also important to consider whether the organisation is right for you. Just because you’re disabled, it doesn’t mean you have to limit your job searching to organisations that consider themselves to be Disability Confident.

To learn how Thomas Pocklington Trust can support you into work, contact employment@pocklington.org.uk