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Recruitment industry has an important role to play in opening up access to the professions, says REC
Commenting on today’s report from the Cabinet Office ‘Unleashing Aspiration’, Sarah Gordon, the REC's Diversity and Inclusion Forum Chair, has urged policymakers to consider the potential the recruitment industry can play in opening up access to the professions.
Sarah said: "As the representative body for the recruitment industry, the REC is a major advocate for promoting diversity. All REC members must have a respect for diversity which is enshrined in the REC code of practice all members must abide by.
"There is an increasing recognition of the pivotal role that our industry can play in helping businesses to recruit from the widest possible pool of talent and helping individuals overcome potential barriers to employment. Government should build upon this base of expertise."
Tim Connolly, Chair of the R2R (Recruitment to Recruitment) Sector Group emphasises the importance that recruiters can play in getting young people into professional jobs in challenging economic conditions. Commenting on the report he said:
"With soaring youth unemployment now an unfortunate reality, things will not get any easier for the class of 2009. Recruiters are playing a crucial role in identifying career paths for young jobseekers to get them into high level jobs. Since young people have little or no experience of the labour market it can be difficult for them to make career decisions on their own. As an industry we are able to identify their skills, provide advice and signpost them down potential career avenues."
The report was compiled by the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions which consists of 18 representatives from the professions, (including the media, law, business and finance, architecture, politics, and medicine), and two experts on social mobility, with the Rt. Hon. Alan Milburn MP as Chair.
For further information on REC’s diversity campaign, see http://www.rec.uk.com/about-recruitment/diversity.
