2nd November 2010, 06:53 PM
Mmm-thoughts. I believe the problem with some units folding is, er, money. Some may not have been financially well run in the first place and third parties are no longer prepared to continue to inject (even small) amounts of cash to sustain them (especially in the current economic climate). Others are hampered by not for profit and other company/council operating constraints that have not allowed them to hold cash surplus for when times are tough. Self employment may be a way forward for companies to take on staff without having to find substantial capital to commence/undertake new projects. I am aware of units who have taken on projects jointly and combined operations to a) keep there existing staff levels busy and b) take on larger projects, in their own backyards that would normally be out of their unit size ability. So it has previously worked without mass hirings followed by end of job layoffs.
While it still appears to be early to judge the impact of government cuts and the (increased?) level of private sector investment in new development; a shrinking market means less operators. Normally in any sector-those who diversify and become more flexible in their appproach to getting new business (don't read cheap, bad etc- rather creative, inventive) survive and can potentially prosper. What bugs me is when 'managers' take the soft option and start off loading staff as it is the easiest option in cutting costs rather than actually looking for ways to improve how they run, reduce waste and look for new income sources. I am not sure how flexible EH can be on this- I seem to recall that there is quite an generous subsidy scheme opperated by EH (as in travel costs, food and accomodation) please correct this if I am wrong. I have seen some extremly flash coffee and tea setups in my time and I am talking several hundreds of pounds....
Enough general wittering/thoughts- it's not the best of times and the goal should be to reduce the human impact.
While it still appears to be early to judge the impact of government cuts and the (increased?) level of private sector investment in new development; a shrinking market means less operators. Normally in any sector-those who diversify and become more flexible in their appproach to getting new business (don't read cheap, bad etc- rather creative, inventive) survive and can potentially prosper. What bugs me is when 'managers' take the soft option and start off loading staff as it is the easiest option in cutting costs rather than actually looking for ways to improve how they run, reduce waste and look for new income sources. I am not sure how flexible EH can be on this- I seem to recall that there is quite an generous subsidy scheme opperated by EH (as in travel costs, food and accomodation) please correct this if I am wrong. I have seen some extremly flash coffee and tea setups in my time and I am talking several hundreds of pounds....
Enough general wittering/thoughts- it's not the best of times and the goal should be to reduce the human impact.