REC welcomes skills pledge

The government’s plans, which were announced in this week’s budget, to plunge £60 million of additional funding into skills has been praised by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

According to the industry body, recruitment professionals are in a "unique position" to comment on the current skills shortages affecting the UK.

"We are delighted that more resources will be allocated to enhancing skills and employability. We need to make sure that we are building tomorrow’s workforce and that the ongoing input of recruitment professionals is used to identify areas of current and future skills gaps," stated Tom Hadley, the REC’s director of external relations.

He went on to say that the chancellor’s announcement that the environmental agenda will be a growing area of activity could be a positive development for recruiters, adding that it may create a "raft of ‘green’ jobs".

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According to REC figures, the recruitment industry is worth £24.5 billion the UK economy.