Background

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) is the trade body that supports and represents the recruitment industry. Worth £27 billion to the UK economy, its 8,000 recruitment agencies and 6,000 recruitment professionals are responsible for placing 1.2 million temporary workers on assignment each week and placing over 700,000 employees in permanent work each year. The REC is able to speak on all aspects of the labour market, from employment legislation and workplace issues, to skills shortages, implications for the economy of changes in employment levels and the benefits of temporary work.

The challenge

The REC firmly believes that training is essential for today's multi-faceted recruitment personnel, and that highly skilled staff deliver better services than non-skilled. 

The REC has been operating as an independent awarding body for over 20 years and together with many of its members has developed a variety of training courses and qualifications aimed specifically at the needs of the industry and its employees. 

The recruitment industry has faced a variety of new challenges over the last few years due to major changes in a raft of UK and EU employment legislation including, terms and conditions, disability, sex, race and age discrimination, equality and inclusion, asylum and immigration, gang master licensing, offender rehabilitation and employment agencies legislation. In addition to incorporating these substantial legislation changes into their role, recruitment practitioners have also been developing more effective interviewing skills, as well as better sales skills, to ensure they are able to deliver a first class service to both employers and  candidates not just now but also in the future.

The REC knew that with these ever greater demands being placed on recruitment consultants, there needed to be a review of courses and the delivery systems undertaken. It was therefore keen to work with the QCA on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) reform programme to have its qualifications recognised on a national basis and deliver its members additional confidence in the knowledge that the REC's qualifications meet both national and industry standards.

The process

Working together, the QCA and the REC have been evolving the systems and procedures the REC already had in place in order to conform to the rigorous standards set to become a QCA accredited awarding body.

Through this process, the REC will be able to offer its members, distance learning programmes (with support workshops) as well as training courses, nationally accredited qualifications developed by the industry for the industry, that can also be adapted as industry demands change.

The result will drive up training standards across the sector and help employers improve staff moral and retention whilst offering learners flexible and nationally accredited business-led qualifications.

Quote

Judith Armatage FREC, Director of Professional Development, at REC comments:

'The REC is pleased to support this project.  It is a huge step forward in demand-led qualifications that meet the needs of business and will ensure that individuals and UK plc is equipped to meet the challenges both of today and tomorrow.'