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- The world of work is constantly evolving – flexible working patterns are a good example of this. The challenge for policy makers is to understand and reflect these changes.
- Workplace flexibility is driven by workers as well as by business need.Employer bodies in the room recognised the importance of flexible working arrangements as a candidate attraction and retention tool.
- The trend is towards increasingly high skilled contractors and interims often referred to as 'Independent Professionals' (IPros). This trend was also flagged in the REC's 'Talent Acquisition in Turbulent Times' report earlier in the year.
- Businesses often need support in terms of how to reconfigure working arrangements and job design.
- Individual workers (contractors, interims, IPros) also need support.
- More needs to be done to raise awareness of flexible options to future generations of workers with a need for effective careers guidance in schools and colleagues.
Disconnect
Tom Hadley, Director of Policy and Professional Services at REC said: "One of the other conclusions from the meeting was that there is a fundamental disconnect in some of the political rhetoric. On the one hand we saw the Business Secretary Vince Cable on the main conference podium highlighting the role of the UK’s flexible labour market in creating over a million new private sector jobs over the last two years.
"On the other hand we had Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander re-emphasising his commitment to pushing ahead with plans that would essentially limit the use of contractors and interims. An immediate post-conference priority for both the PCG and the REC will be to launch the next phase of our campaigning work on this issue."
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2012
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