Page 165 - Socially-responsible-restructuring-Effective-strategies-for-supporting-redundant-workers

Socially responsible restructuring
Effective strategies for supporting redundant workers

Further, over nine in ten (94%) of the responses said that training undertaken
through ReAct had made them either quite prepared, or very prepared, in relation
to their current job.

6.15.5. Innovation and effectiveness
The key areas of effectiveness in the ReAct programme relate to the way career
guidance and labour market information support decisions on training, which
respond to the needs and expectations of individuals and are relevant to the
wider economy. It was indicated that ‘around 60%’ of applications by individuals
for vocational training are broadly building on skills that individuals already have,
while ‘around 40%’ are related to wholly new areas.
The ReAct team monitors both individual applications and patterns in
applications for continuing training to ensure that the training sought is going to
be current and matches labour market needs.

6.16. Electronics company (CASE STUDY 16)

6.16.1. Background and context
The electronics plant is located in Wales where it has been established for some
time. The company is currently part of an international corporation with
headquarters outside the EU, having been taken over as a way of expanding its
business into Europe. The plant produces electrical and other related products
and is essentially an assembly operation, with most components imported from
other parts of the multinational structure.
There is currently a medium-sized workforce, most of whom are manual
operatives doing light assembly work. They would not necessarily require formal
qualifications for the work, but, over time, would have acquired substantial
experienced-based skills. There is a fairly even gender balance in the workforce
and the average age is around the mid 40s, including staff with relatively long
service having started working for the company since it first opened. Trade union
membership is relatively high.

6.16.2. Restructuring and job losses
Following a review of the company’s operations in Europe, the parent company
announced that it was concentrating production for the European market and this
would involve the closure of this plant, with all production shifted to another EU
Member State. The company is fairly self-contained in terms of its sources of

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