Now our prime minister is minus his favourite campaigning advisor, he could turn to Ari Martonen for inspiration. The energy with which the Finnforest boss tore round the country last week, meeting all 750 of the company’s UK workforce in 72 hours, would have done any electioneering politician proud.
The aim of the trip was to explain Finnforest’s new corporate strategy. But why the face-to-face approach? Why not just send out glossy brochures? Mr Martonen’s explanation was succinct. The heart of the company, he said, were its personnel.
‘Above all this is a people business. We depend absolutely on their commitment, know-ledge and skills.’
Which brings us back to education and training. I know we’ve raised the subjects only recently, but they are the means for nuturing the skills and commitment of any workforce, and they are clearly a growing focus for the timber trade. They will form a central plank of Finnforest’s development in the next few years, with major announcements in the area promised shortly. SCA also continues to step up its training programmes, now announcing their sanction by the IWSc.
This week we also report on the latter’s progress in developing courses to plug the gap left by the loss of the TTTA. The danger highlighted here is that, if we are due a US-led economic slowdown, training may snap back into focus as a prime target for cutbacks. The UK’s skills shortage hanging over from the last recession shows this should be avoided if at all possible.
The TTF is also paying more attention to training and will undoubtedly address the issue in its new column in TTJ. It kicks off, though, with a look at the Federation’s lobbying activities and new ‘timber manifesto’. More tips, perhaps, for our Mandelsonless leader.
