REC East positive about recruitment and employment at Cambridge event

The REC (Recruitment & Employment Confederation) Member Network East held an event at The Gonville Hotel last week.

The REC, ‘the voice of the recruitment industry’, is a UK-wide membership body for recruiters - including Reed, Adecco and Manpower - which was founded in 2000. It provides legal advice, business support and training to help recruiters, and celebrates an industry which contributed £43billion to the UK economy in 2021.

The Confederation brought recruiters in the East of England together for the summit in Cambridge to talk about the state of the job market in the region, and to forecast demand for the rest of 2025. Speakers addressed topics relevant to the workplace including AI, equality, diversity and inclusion, and net zero.

Attendees were in a positive frame of mind, said the REC’s chief executive: East, Neil Carberry, of the 6 March gathering.

“Recruitment businesses from Cambridgeshire are feeling a little warmer about their prospects as we enter the spring,” noted Neil.

“Changes driven by rising taxes, new technology and low cost, low quality competition concerned REC members at our meeting in Cambridge today. Many are holding their breath to see the effect of the NI rise, but all concluded there were opportunities to chase and a positive outlook for later in the year.

“Firms discussed the challenges the area faces with finding candidates, and the need for businesses to treat their recruitment as a strategic priority, not a transactional process. This is what will help close the productivity gap - partnering with a professional recruiter is a great way to get expert advice as well as access to candidates. “

Next up is the REC’s annual conference: RECLive25 takes place on 10 June, details here.