The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has called on the government to consider temp agencies as part of its drive to help people back into work.

It was responding to a government Green Paper looking at ways to get people back to work. It acknowleged the role of agencies in helping people back to work, but the REC felt the government could go further in its use of agencies.

Anne Fairweather, the REC's head of public policy, said: "We are keen to ensure that the skills and experience of the recruitment industry are used to full effect. However this is only going to be possible if future welfare to work services make full use of the opportunities of temporary work." REC research shows 1.2m people are placed in temporary jobs every week.

Nina Perry, a branch manager for Forrest Recruitment, agreed: "It's the easiest route back into work if people have had a career break, whether to start a family, or through redundancy or long-term sickness."

She added: "Most clients trust us to put someone in who will do the job well, whereas if they applied direct they may find themselves overlooked because of gaps in their CV."

Fairweather told Recruiter: "Temporary work benefits the employee, who can try out different roles and different employers, without committing to a job — a scary prospect for someone returning to the workplace. It also benefits the employer, who is taking less nick treharne/pageoneof a risk than if they employed someone long-term."

However, Rachel Goldrick, a spokeswoman for Working Links, a public/private partnership organisation that is part of the government's existing welfare to work programme, was less positive. She told Recruiter: "The transition from benefits into work is momentous. If someone went through the whole process and found themselves out of a job a month later, I'm not sure it would help in the long term."

Fairweather said: "While there may be challenges, if you look at how people use temporary work overall there are real opportunities."