The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has advertised in the UK 2016 Graduate Guide – which is distributed to 540,000 university leavers nationally – with the aim of attracting top graduate talent to the sector.

Members that are currently looking to recruit 2016 graduates have been urged to contact APSCo, which will add them to its list of graduate employers.

The move is the latest in a long line of initiatives by the trade association to promote professional recruitment as a career of choice that also includes its successful annual paid intern programme for undergraduates.  It also forms a key strand of its stakeholder engagement strategy alongside marketing APSCo members to over 250,000 employers that are members of CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) and CIPS (Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply).

“It’s ironic that the recruitment profession, while immersed in the scramble for the brightest recruits, has so far been largely overlooked in the current ‘war for talent’ itself,” Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo, said. “Unlike other sectors, which have the advantage of established career structures, and arguably more buy-in from schools and parents, recruitment is not promoted as a viable career path for millennials at a crucial stage when they are making decisions about their futures.”

“It’s no secret that the profession, for whatever reason, has historically not been positioned or perceived as a ‘career of choice’ for bright young recruits. However, it is imperative that this changes if we are to compete with established graduate programmes – such as those offered by large accountancy and legal firms – in the mighty ‘war for talent’,” Swain said.

“The message we are promoting through the Graduate Guide is that the professional recruitment sector is a rapidly-growing and exciting destination for high-calibre graduates who aspire towards a fast-track career, promoting perks such as top salaries, international travel and the very real possibility of becoming a business owner,” Swain said.