Any licensing of the recruitment sector must bring in “licensing with teeth”, according to Richard Herring, chairman of the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) Executive Committee and European staffing services director for Volt Europe.

Herring’s comments follow an announcement by APSCo that it is to host a nationwide debate on whether the recruitment industry should be licensed in June.

On 24 June APSCo will host a series of simultaneous events in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester.

Delegates and panelists will be able to interact live, while delegates can also put questions to panelists and vote via a range of electronic devices including mobile phones and PDAs with the results of votes displayed live at each venue.

Herring told Recruiter: “I personally believe that we can benefit from having a properly defined and well-policed licensing system. I would prefer that our industry takes the lead as this is a subject that is, or will be, debated by each of the political parties. I am very excited by the concept of a national event where we can exchange views and let the industry vote on what action to take. I hope as many people in our industry as possible will take part.”

Ann Swain, chief executive of APSCo, says: “The industry trade bodies have differing views on licensing, which is potentially a divisive issue. The best approach therefore is to let the industry decide for itself.

 “The recruitment industry suffers from a poor reputation, which has contributed to the erosion of margins. A robust licensing regime should help improve the status of the industry and raise barriers to entry– but it will be for the recruitment profession itself to decide if we want licensing and the form it should take.”