Industry bodies hit back at Miliband’s comments on the recruitment sector

Anna Scott

Labour leader Ed Miliband’s assertion that recruitment agencies hire exclusively from overseas and discriminate against UK job seekers highlights his misconceptions about the sector, recruitment bodies have said.

In his speech to his party on Monday, Miliband said: “We’ve got to call a halt to the race to the bottom, between workers already here and workers coming here.”

“Recruitment agencies hiring only from overseas – it’s a race to the bottom.”

Kevin Green, REC CEO said that the REC had asked the Labour Party for evidence of this practice and none had been produced.

“This is the third time we have heard him say this about our sector and it is simply not true,” he said.

Employers and recruiters have to look to the EU and beyond to source skills where there are currently shortages in the UK, Green added.

“Politicians should do more to support UK businesses who are keen to hire staff rather than adding further red tape,” he said. “Ed Miliband should focus less on demonising the recruitment industry and more on how we should train and invest in our young people so that they are better placed to get the jobs available.”

Sam Hurley, head of external relations at APSCo also objected strongly to the “stereotypical generalisation of the entire recruitment profession”.

“If we are to adequately address the issues affecting the UK labour force, political parties need to stop talking in absolutes,” Hurley said. “This broad brush approach does nothing to help those recruitment consultancies in the professional sector that are helping to drive the recovery of UK plc through employment.”

This news comes as Labour announced its plans to make large companies take on a UK apprentice for every overseas worker they hire.

REC research released this week revealed that 71% of employers are failing to attract young people through apprenticeships despite more than 50% of employers planning to increase their permanent workforce in the next three months.

The JobsOutlook survey of 600 employers also found that in the next three months 34% of employers plan to increase their temporary workforce, up two points on last month.