Trade union Community has launched a not-for-profit, ethical recruitment agency run by its training arm Knowledge Skills Partnership (KSP).

For the past six years, KSP has retrained and counselled over 10,000 redundant workers in traditional industries such as steel and textiles so they are equipped to start new careers.

The move into recruitment consultancy is seen as the next step to helping retrained people back into the workplace, said a KSP spokesman.

KSP the Agency, operating from 15 UK centres, works with a flat placement fee, offering clients a range of options if they want further services. The aim is to be completely transparent and to run the operation along ethical lines.

Victoria Shaw, chief executive of KSP and KSP the Agency, said: “While we expect to make a surplus, every penny will be reinvested in the work of KSP so that people facing redundancy or needing a job can be employed. In this way, employers using our services will be contributing to our programme of social inclusion.”

Despite more women entering the trade, male finance professionals earn on average £9,600 more than their female counterparts, according to the survey.