Emmanuel Mafu, CAP’s Policy and Public Affairs Officer, reflects on findings from Christians Against Poverty’s Barriers to Work report, examining the real challenges people face in accessing and sustaining employment.
With unemployment at a five-year high and households under mounting financial pressure, the blog calls for urgent action to create more secure and inclusive pathways into work.
There is a common story told about unemployment. It goes something like this: if you want a job, you apply. If you apply enough, you will get one.
It is neat. It is simple. It is also widely detached from reality.
Employment is firmly at the centre of current Government plans to reduce economic inactivity and support more people into work. Work is rightly seen as a key route out of poverty. But if policy is built on the assumption that motivation is the primary barrier, it risks missing what people are actually facing.
At Christians Against Poverty (CAP), we support people experiencing financial hardship across the UK. Through our Job Clubs, we work alongside people who are actively seeking employment. Many want to work and are taking practical steps to do so. Yet they face complex barriers that make the journey far more difficult than simply ‘try harder’.
Alongside our frontline experience, our recent research surveyed adults who were unemployed or struggling financially. The findings reinforce what Job Club coaches see every week: unemployment is rarely about effort alone. It is shaped by health challenges, structural barriers, skills gaps and the cumulative impact of rejection. As two respondents told us:
I apply and apply. After a while you start to wonder if there’s something wrong with you.
It’s not that I don’t want to work. It’s that I can’t always predict when I’ll be well enough.
We are publishing these findings now because if work is to be a sustainable route out of poverty, support must reflect lived experience. Listening to those navigating the system is not a criticism of policy ambition. It is a contribution to making that ambition work.
Health is not peripheral to employability
Health emerged as one of the most significant barriers in our research.
56%
of adults with a mental health condition told us it reduced their ability to work full-time.
48%
of unemployed respondents aid depression or anxiety had made finding work more difficult.
These figures reflect more than temporary setbacks. Mental health conditions can be as limiting as physical health conditions, particularly where symptoms fluctuate. For some respondents, managing appointments, sleep disruption or anxiety made the structure of full-time work feel unattainable.
One participant explained,
Some days I’m fine. Other days I can’t leave the house. Employers don’t see that.
Others described feeling pressure to conceal their mental health challenges during recruitment, fearing stigma or reduced chances of success.
If participation is to increase meaningfully, mental health must be embedded within employment policy. CAP is calling for closer integration between employment and NHS mental health services, and for support that reflects fluctuating capacity rather than rigid full-time expectations. Expanding access to genuinely flexible roles would make work possible for many currently excluded.
The experience trap
Alongside health, structural barriers related to skills and experience continue to restrict access to work.
10%
of unemployed adults said they lacked the skills required to secure employment.
14%
identified lack of experience as a key obstacle.
These figures reflect more than individual deficits. Many respondents described a cycle in which entry-level roles required prior experience, yet opportunities to gain that experience were limited. For those who had spent time out of the labour market due to caring responsibilities, illness or financial crisis, re-entry was particularly challenging.
In practice, this can mean capable individuals repeatedly reaching the final stages of applications but being filtered out due to narrowly defined experience criteria.
CAP recommends expanding structured entry pathways that link training directly to real vacancies, particularly for those re-entering the labour market after illness, caring or crisis. Recruitment practices should recognise transferable skills rather than relying on narrow experience criteria. Without this shift, capable candidates will continue to be filtered out before they begin.
Confidence as a symptom
Low confidence was identified by 24% of unemployed adults as a barrier to finding work. However, our research suggests losing confidence can be an outcome of repeated rejection.
Participants spoke about applying for dozens of roles without feedback, struggling to understand why they were unsuccessful and gradually disengaging from the process. Over time, silence and rejection eroded self-belief, particularly when combined with financial pressure and health challenges.
Where rejection erodes confidence, recruitment systems themselves must respond. CAP is calling for greater transparency and clearer feedback within hiring processes, particularly in publicly funded programmes. Sustained, relational employment support is more effective than one-off interventions in rebuilding momentum.
Work is not always an exit from poverty
Securing employment is a significant achievement. Yet our research indicates that work does not automatically resolve financial hardship.
Some respondents who had moved into employment described insecure hours, low pay or roles that could not accommodate health needs or caring responsibilities. In these circumstances, employment was difficult to sustain or insufficient to stabilise finances.
Entry into work is not enough. CAP is urging policymakers to prioritise job quality by promoting secure contracts, predictable hours and progression opportunities. Durable participation, not short-term job entry, should be the benchmark of success.
What is the takeaway?
The findings presented here are not intended to challenge the ambition of increasing employment. They are intended to inform it.
Unemployment is shaped by obstacles, many of which are structural.
As Government policy continues to focus on supporting people into work, it is important that the approach reflects lived experience. If work is to be a sustainable route out of poverty, support must be realistic, person-centred and designed around the barriers people actually face.
