REC chairman and Manpower director Keith Faulkner, has been appointed managing director of Working Links, the public-private partnership which puts the long-term unemployed back into work.

The company, which has already helped over 12,000 jobseekers, runs 11 action teams across the UK, from Glasgow to Plymouth.

On his appointment, Faulkner immediately set a new target of 15,000 unemployed to be in work by April.

Working Links expressed confidence in their ability to achieve this target based on their success so far.

Commenting on the ambitious scheme, Falkner said: ‘The company has got over 11,000 long-term unemployed people into sustainable jobs in just two years.

‘This is a remarkable achievement by any measure, but there is still a lot to do. We hope to achieve 15,000 into good jobs by April 2002.’