The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) is to launch its latest phase of its Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) implementation drive.

Over the next nine months, the industry body aims to put in motion a wide-ranging support programme to ensure that agencies and industry leaders prepare their businesses, staff, clients and temporary workers ahead of the October 2011 implementation date.

According to the REC, it will deliver a range of new services and products including webinars, client packs, sector-specific briefings and in-house training for front-line consultants. These support measures will build on the existing toolkits, workshops and briefings that have been made available to members over the last year.

Kevin Green (left), the REC’s chief executive, says: “The aim has always been to secure the best possible outcome for recruiters and to minimise the impact that the regulations will have on our market. Following a decade of lobbying in Westminster and Brussels, is now all about helping the industry to gear up for implementation.”

Full details of the REC’s AWR Support Programme will be announced in January through an interactive webinar. This webinar will also provide the latest update from its discussions with Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and client organisations.

In other news, the REC has announced a strategic partnership with the charity, the Education and Employers Taskforce.

The Taskforce is an independent charity which aims to ensure that all young people can benefit from effective partnerships between schools and colleges and employers, so that young people know about the world of work and can make informed career choices.

The initiative with the REC will give opportunities for REC members to get involved in local level activities, building bridges into the world of work, which was one of the core themes of the REC’s Youth Employment Taskforce report published earlier this year.