Blamed on the global economic downturn which has led to sharp fall in recent steel prices, the Anglo-Dutch group Corus (which was bought only in 2007 for nearly 14 billions dollars) has been forced to axe 3,500 jobs in the UK.

This announcement has resulted in grave words of concern by business leaders, the government and unions alike; the GMB’s John Wilson describing it as a “a body blow for UK manufacturing”.

Corus’ chief executive Philippe Varin commented:

“The company will keep its focus on priority areas such as training, research and product development, which, together with today’s initiative, will ensure Corus is in the best possible shape to compete strongly in the future.”

Many leading thinkers believe that organisations need to continue investing the skills, training and personal development of their staff to strengthen their ability to ride out this recession. The TUC have been making regular statements on the subject; “Learning and development through skills training is now vital for workers to survive the economic crisis”.

If your company is looking to cut back everywhere possible in your outgoings, make staff training, skills and personal development last on your list. In fact, investing in it is only going to help.