The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) is calling on the Government to involve the recruitment industry more directly in workforce planning for the Industrial Strategy.
Responding to the latest jobs plans connected to the strategy, Shazia Ejaz, the REC’s Director of Campaigns, said employers will need both long-term skills investment and access to experienced people now if they are to deliver the ambitions set out by government.
“Training is essential, but employers also need access to experienced workers today.”
Shazia Ejaz, Director of Campaigns, REC
Recruitment’s role in workforce delivery
Ejaz said the emerging plans give a clearer indication of where demand is likely to arise, but warned that employers cannot rely solely on developing the workforce of tomorrow. Many of the sectors central to the Industrial Strategy already use contracted workers, she said, so access to labour needs to be part of the planning from the outset.
The REC wants the Government to engage early with the recruitment industry, which it says contributes more than £40 billion a year to the UK economy. The body argues that recruiters can help connect workers with roles while allowing workforce plans to reflect conditions in the labour market.
Balancing skills with immediate demand
According to Ejaz, a large-scale rebuilding of the workforce will require attention to both training pipelines and the talent employers require to deliver projects now. She said the recruitment industry should help carry the load of the economic transformation by connecting people with the opportunities that emerge.
The REC says early dialogue is important where businesses depend on flexible and contracted talent, so that strategy does not overlook how roles are actually filled.
More information is available from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation.
