Syllabus: OCR - GCSE Business
Module: 3. People
Lesson: 3.4 Recruitment and Selection
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Introduction
Recruitment and selection is a core component of Unit 3 (“People”) in the OCR GCSE Business specification. This topic equips students with insight into how businesses find and choose the right employees—a process that significantly impacts business success. It’s closely linked to real workplace challenges and offers rich opportunities for active learning, role-play, and decision-making practice. For teachers, this unit is syllabus-aligned and fits well within wider curriculum plans focused on human resource management and organisational structure.
Key Concepts
Students studying this topic should be able to:
Understand the purpose of recruitment and the difference between internal and external recruitment.
Explain the steps in the recruitment process: identifying a vacancy, creating a job description and person specification, advertising the role, shortlisting, and interviewing.
Identify the pros and cons of different recruitment methods (e.g., job centres, online platforms, word of mouth).
Evaluate different selection methods such as CV screening, application forms, interviews, tests, and assessment centres.
Discuss how recruitment and selection decisions can affect the efficiency and performance of a business.
This topic ties in directly with other parts of the specification such as motivation, training, and organisational structure—making it a key stepping stone in understanding how businesses manage people.
Real-World Relevance
Recruitment is not just a textbook process—it plays out daily across all sectors. Consider the example of Aldi, which places strong emphasis on cultural fit and practical assessment in their selection process. Candidates go through multiple stages, including group tasks and store trials, to ensure they’re not just capable on paper but also suited to the fast-paced retail environment.
Another timely example is the rise of remote recruitment post-COVID. Companies like PwC and the NHS have streamlined their selection processes using virtual interviews and AI-driven CV filtering—giving students a chance to explore how technology is reshaping traditional HR practices.
How It’s Assessed
In the OCR GCSE Business exam, this topic typically features in both short-answer and extended response formats. Common command words include:
Explain: e.g., “Explain one advantage of internal recruitment.”
Analyse: e.g., “Analyse the impact of poor recruitment on a small business.”
Evaluate: e.g., “Evaluate whether online job advertising is the best method for a start-up.”
Students may also encounter case-study style questions that require them to apply their knowledge to a scenario. Emphasis is placed on developing logical chains of reasoning and supported judgements.
Enterprise Skills Integration
This unit naturally lends itself to enterprise skills development:
Decision-making: Choosing between candidates or selecting recruitment methods based on business needs.
Problem-solving: Addressing recruitment challenges, such as skills shortages or budget constraints.
Communication: Practising interview techniques and reviewing CVs helps build students’ ability to express and evaluate information clearly.
Collaboration: Group activities like mock interviews or candidate role-play enhance teamwork and evaluation.
Enterprise Skills’ Business Simulations can reinforce these concepts by placing students in HR decision-making roles, where they must recruit for a growing company and justify their choices.
Careers Links
This topic supports Gatsby Benchmarks 4, 5 and 6:
Benchmark 4 (Linking curriculum learning to careers): Connects directly with HR, retail, healthcare, and hospitality sectors.
Benchmark 5 (Encounters with employers and employees): Ideal for guest speakers or HR workshops.
Benchmark 6 (Experiences of workplaces): Recruitment tasks mirror real-life job applications and interviews.
Relevant career paths include:
Human Resources Officer
Recruitment Consultant
Business Administration Apprentice
Line Manager or Team Leader roles
You can also link with your school’s careers programme by inviting former students or local employers to run mock interviews or CV workshops.
Teaching Notes
What works:
Use role-play to simulate interviews and candidate evaluation—students enjoy ‘playing the part’ and it deepens understanding.
Integrate real job adverts and CVs for analysis—brings the theory to life.
Combine this topic with Unit 3.5 (Motivation) for a fuller HR picture.
Common pitfalls:
Students often confuse recruitment and selection. Emphasise that recruitment is about attracting candidates, while selection is about choosing the right one.
Many students default to generic answers. Encourage specificity—e.g., how internal recruitment reduces costs but might limit new ideas.
Extension activities:
Run a mini recruitment campaign where students create a job spec, advert, and shortlist candidates.
Compare recruitment strategies between different types of businesses: start-ups, large corporates, charities.
Tools that help:
Enterprise Skills’ plug-and-play simulations provide a low-prep, high-engagement way to embed this topic into active learning. Built for real classrooms, they save planning time while reinforcing the exact skills OCR expects learners to demonstrate.
