REC puts its weight behind Backing Young Britain Campaign

The REC has today signed up to the Government’s Backing Young Britain Campaign to pledge the recruitment industry’s support in helping to prevent a generation of young people being lost to unemployment.

Last November at its National Convention, the REC launched a Youth Employment Taskforce to bring together leading figures in recruitment and HR and provide practical solutions to getting young unemployed people into work. 

The REC’s Youth Employment Taskforce is chaired by Baroness Prosser, Deputy Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and involves high-profile employers as well as representative bodies such as the CIPD and the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) and a number of leading recruiters and welfare providers. 

Commenting on the Backing Young Britain campaign and on the progress of the REC's Taskforce so far, Chief Executive Kevin Green says: 

“Whilst the unemployment figures for December showed a decline in the number of young claimants, a further group of job-seekers will be entering the labour market in the summer. Employers and recruiters can play a crucial role by highlighting the skills and support mechanisms that are needed in order to build bridges into the world of work. The REC supports the aims of the Backing Young Britain Campaign and we will be using our Youth Employment Taskforce to drive the debate forward. 

“As well as enhancing support to young people, the Government must stimulate job creation, for example through the tax regime and by encouraging entrepreneurship. The aim of our Taskforce is to develop practical recommendations on these and other areas and to look at the longer term outlook in terms of jobs and skills needs of the future.” 

Specific issues that the Youth Employment Taskforce is addressing include:   

*How is the employment landscape evolving, what are the ‘jobs of the future’ for young job-seekers?  

*What are the changing attitudes of young people to the world of work and what skills do they need to succeed?  

*How can we build effective ‘bridges’ into the world of work and provide young job-seekers with the support to compete in an increasingly competitive labour market?