As the UK officially becomes part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Association of Professional Staffing Companies has called the move ‘highly positive’ for recruitment businesses. According to APSCo, this move means staffing companies will now be able to capitalise on the economic growth in the Asia Pacific region.
Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director at APSCo explains:
“The CPTPP improves the provision of services between 12 countries, which means that UK recruiters can now more easily work across APAC destinations including Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. In many of these locations, local regulation has previously meant that domestic businesses were given preferential treatment, so expansion into Singapore, for example, would have required having a physical presence on the ground. Under the new partnership agreement, the red tape that many firms have faced is eased, from access to temporary work visas to get consultants on the ground for work, to the removal of historic requirements for a contract or prior experience in the country to bid for work.”
“APSCo UK, APSCo Asia and APSCo Australia have worked closely with members to help navigate the change which we believe will boost the prospects of staffing firms across all 12 destinations in the partnership. We hope that the success of this move will translate into further positives improvements to international trade deals which are far too often focused on commodities rather than the provision of professional services. At a time when a combination of skills shortages, economic uncertainty and a highly saturated recruitment market are putting pressure on UK staffing companies, access to international opportunities are critical, and APSCo Global will work with its regional entities to best lobby for fairer trade deals for all.”