The Olympics of the recruitment industry kicked off this week in the form of the 2012 CIETT World Employment Conference. As we speak, over 300 recruitment professionals from 34 different nations are meeting at the event, held at London's Landmark Hotel, to discuss the latest and future trends in the world of jobs.

CIETT 2012, Landmark Hotel, London

Our client, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) joins speakers such as Dr Lynda Gratton, journalist and author Matthew Syed, as well as the TUC's general secretary Brendan Barber, to provide insights into the global employment market and how British businesses can get out of the recession.

Having over 20 world class speakers under one roof brings about some really interesting points about flexible working and job creation, but also some heated debate - on the one hand Kevin Green, CEO of the REC, says that part-time work keeps people in employment and should not be thought of as second class, whereas the TUC argues that it creates underemployment.

From our work with various clients, including the REC, youth unemployment also continues to be a hot topic and it's going to be particularly interesting to see how the issue is being addressed in different countries. Does every country have the same obstacles or are some countries doing better than others to help young people find jobs? Maybe we can learn from them; maybe they can learn from us.

Either way, quality recruitment is going to be vital to supporting our economic recovery, which is why I think this kind of big international event is so important right now.

Join in with the debate on Twitter #ciett2012

Jenny @jenhannajackson