Gareth Osborne, Managing Director of the
13,000 member strong Recruitment & Employers Confederation
(REC), has been instrumental in the introduction of self-regulation
in the recruitment industry.
Until 1995 recruitment companies had been subject to
Government licensing. Suspension coincided with the industry
experiencing unprecedented growth, driven by the trend
towards outsourcing, and expanded from £3bn to £23bn
between 1992 and 2002. When Osborne arrived at REC three
years ago, he recognised the industry needed to protect
itself from the damage which rogue operators could do
to its reputation.
Under his leadership `REC Audited` was launched in January
2005, which has allowed REC members to volunteer for
an independent audit of their quality and regulatory
compliance. TAC Europe, in its quest to consolidate its
reputation for technical excellence, became in May 2005
one of the first wave of companies to be REC Audited.
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During Osborne’s second year, external audit specialist,
SGS, were brought in to develop a robust audit that validates
compliance with The Employment Agencies Act and Conduct Regulations
2003 and REC Code of Good Recruitment Practice. “When
we surveyed our members”, explains Osborne, “over
70% said they would like to return to a regulated environment.
Through `REC Audited`, we have introduced self-regulation,
which allows our members to prove that they are good. The audit
reveals not just whether the correct policies are in place
but whether they are being put into practice at all levels”.
The introduction of the REC Audit has been well received externally
and welcomed by the DTI. Osborne is spreading the message among
HR Professionals and Government Purchasing Departments about
the relevance of the Audit and encouraging them to demand the
REC Audit from their suppliers. “My mission is to get
REC members to promote what they have achieved – there
is a long term education process ahead in which we need to
explain the tools that are available to judge the good from
the bad”.
We are right on target”, he says, “one hundred
member companies have been successfully audited and a further
50 - 60 are going through the process. His next target is for
50% of the membership to be audited by 2007 and beyond. “Momentum
will be driven by client pressure but it will also depend on
audited companies actively promoting it by using it in their
branding as a differentiator”.
Next year the introduction of the REC Gold Standard will ensure
staff are qualified at all levels and facilitate compliance
with sector specific quality standards such as ISO 9000 and
IIP.
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motorsport recruiters, ACR Solutions Ltd, become TAC Europe’s
latest acquisition
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TAC Europe have executed their
third strategic acquisition in the last nine months following
recent deals for rail industry recruiter, Westmead Associates
and
Southern area technical specialists, Cliveden Recruitment plc. |
| The acquisition of ACR
Solutions Ltd took place on 7th July 2006. |
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Established in 1998 and based in West Sussex, ACR provides
technical recruitment services to an impressive client
portfolio across the automotive and motorsport
sectors.
Kevin Petersen, Managing Director of ACR commented “This is a great opportunity
for the business to continue its development as part of an internationally recognised
technical recruitment organisation”
Simon Trippick, Managing Director of TAC Europe added “We
are looking forward to working with Kevin and his team.
TAC Europe has already established itself as a provider
of key technical skills and works closely with the MIA
(Motorsport Industry Association) and the SAE-UK (Society
of Automotive Engineers UK) to support many of the world’s
racing teams, specialist manufacturers and prestige automotive
companies. The addition of ACR to our group will help
us to continue and accelerate |
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tac europe wins two out of
three awards from Aston Martin !
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 There
has been some cause for celebration recently for two of
TAC Europe’s team. Automotive client account
managers, Ben Chamberlain (Contract recruitment) and
Steve Karani (Permanent recruitment) have just been announced
as two of the first three recipients of the new Aston
Martin ‘Proactive Account Management Award’.
Ben & Steve are delighted with the recognition they
have received and commented “Aston Martin is a
valued and long standing client of TAC Europe, so it’s
particularly satisfying when our personal efforts to
provide a top level service are acknowledged in this
way”
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