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New report highlights future skills needs and importance of training in the downturn

The REC was invited to take part in today’s launch of ‘Future Fit’, a report produced by the CBI and Universities UK focusing on future skills need and on preparing graduates for the workplace. 

Commenting on the launch of the report, Judith Armatage, the REC’s Director of Professional Development, said:  “Although we are living through one of the toughest recessions we’ve ever known, it is still important to invest in the training of young people. Recruiters are in a unique position to know where the current and future skills needs of employers are not being met by the candidates coming into the jobs market for the first time. The recruitment industry is a key voice within the ongoing skills debate”.  

A survey of REC members in 2008 found that 56 per cent of recruiters found that the skillset of young people leaving education was not up to scratch. The Future Fit report highlights the role that employers can play in giving students opportunities to build and refine their skills – for example through internships. It also underlines the need for ongoing development. 

The report’s key messages equally apply to training and development within the recruitment industry itself. 

Commenting on this, Armatage concludes:  “Over 108,000 people work in recruitment. The industry is a major employer in its own right and we must continue to professionalise and develop our people.  For example, we are now finding that consultants are requiring different skills to help sustain businesses though the downturn.  

“Good effective sales techniques have become more important than ever but the skills now being sought are quite different to those needed in a buoyant economy. Investing in the necessary training is a key part of remaining competitive in these difficult times.” 

For more information about the REC’s programme of training courses, visit the website http://www.rec.uk.com/academy-for-business/training.