As the global financial crisis continues the domino effects are being weighed up all around the world, from large players in the chemical industry to small and medium sized companies. Nobody knows the extent to which developments may affect them, but it is almost certain that costs will be under close scrutiny as we enter into 2009 budget considerations.
One cost that cannot be easily reduced without having a detrimental effect on a company's performance is the money allocated for the training of staff. It could even be said that a highly trained workforce is even more critical during difficult economic times to make sure a company is working at its highest potential efficiency levels. As hiring in expertise is an expensive process, making sure current employees are well trained becomes vital. However, sending staff for training courses in external locations is expensive especially when you take into account travel costs and the actual prices of some courses. Not only this, when colleagues are off site they are no longer contributing to their company's revenue.