How's next year looking for you?

[bricol]

I got told today that the company have finally decided to look into a succession plan for my replacement. I have been telling them for the last two years I haven't got long left
Still, I expect I will have left before they actually sort anything out

Our place take such things seriously - retirees have to give a lot of notice.

So when the service manager retired, and we have service guys all over the world, his replacement spent 3/4 of an hour with him the day before he left . . .

Usually the replacement starts a week or two after, so things are getting better

 

[Cheesie]

Good level 3 riggers are always in demand. But how do you get-an NVQ with just a course? Surely there is a documented on the job piece too

I've been an appointed person and slinger for years, the only tickets I've really kept going, also been site supervisor, old citb gold card, just completed an nvq level four on previous work etc for site supervision I've had a chat with a few training places and it seems my previous experience with cranes etc will help, tickets are good to have but costly to keep them all up to date I like my new job, which is mainly based around fitting and servicing pumps and motors, but always like to have other opportunities if things go tit's up for whatever reason, I updated my codes last year too but struggle with vision now

 

[Robotstar5]

Our place take such things seriously - retirees have to give a lot of notice.

So when the service manager retired, and we have service guys all over the world, his replacement spent 3/4 of an hour with him the day before he left . . .

Usually the replacement starts a week or two after, so things are getting better

At my last place I had to give 3 months notice.

 

[addjunkie]

I've been an appointed person and slinger for years, the only tickets I've really kept going, also been site supervisor, old citb gold card, just completed an nvq level four on previous work etc for site supervision I've had a chat with a few training places and it seems my previous experience with cranes etc will help, tickets are good to have but costly to keep them all up to date I like my new job, which is mainly based around fitting and servicing pumps and motors, but always like to have other opportunities if things go tit's up for whatever reason, I updated my codes last year too but struggle with vision now

If your doing maintenance, will they not pay for your rigging training course?

 

[marlinspike]

We have one a few houses up and I always assumed they’d bought it but they’re actually tenants. The landlord has accepted an offer and they’ve been trying to find another home for the last 5 months when they were told of her plans.

I assumed anybody wanting to off load their rental to avoid cgt would have done it already. Hadn't realised there was other stuff coming through re tenancies etc. There's 2 on the same street here that look ex rental, both new on the market, so could be the same landlord.

 

[Cheesie]

If your doing maintenance, will they not pay for your rigging training course?

No, rigging is not used here much i have to go to the republic or Scotland to do it

 

[Craig-SM]

I assumed anybody wanting to off load their rental to avoid cgt would have done it already. Hadn't realised there was other stuff coming through re tenancies etc. There's 2 on the same street here that look ex rental, both new on the market, so could be the same landlord.

The capital gains rate changed at the end of October, jumping by 8% for lower earners and bizarrely 4% for higher earners so no one got chance to avoid the tax increase other than those who listed their properties as soon as the election was won.
The new rules they’re wanting to bring in to give further protection to tenants are the last straw for many landlords. Even those who put their properties into Limited companies are concerned that they could be taxed differently as another tax grab so looking to invest elsewhere.

Confidence from both the public and business has evaporated, everything they’re doing is just is like a scene from a Keystone Cops movie.

 

[Bullet2012]

how are the results going for the poll the op initially posted ?

 

[m_c]

how are the results going for the poll the op initially posted ?

 

[m_c]

I'll admit, I don't think this year is looking too good for me.

One of my main side incomes involving events has taken a nosedive, as two major organisers have given up, so that's several weekends worth of work I've lost.
Competitors haven't been doing as many events, as everybody is feeling the pinch, and sponsorship is thin on the ground, as the industry has taken a nosedive globally.

The other side lines, one has been in a bit of decline for a few years, as I've been busy with other stuff so not really pushed it, and the other I've never really pushed, so I can't really complain that sales have been slow.
However with a new job on the horizon, and more available weekends, the plan is to put some effort into those side lines and get more sales.

 

[Craig-SM]

Well Starmer has announced they will use AI to save money in Whitehall and stop the economy crashing as cost of government borrowing has increased again. I thought the government was already using artificial intelligence as there has been a lack of real intelligence to date.

Anyway on a positive note Reeves has come out of hiding returned from China with a £600m of investment over 5 years to save the country from ruin. That was much harder to write without laughing than I thought it would be

 

[marlinspike]

To put that in perspective, £600 million runs the NHS for about 3 days. I do think her nickname 'Rachel from Accounts' is quite funny. I did wonder if the AI story was just another avenue to desperately raise money asap, like selling off all the NHS data.

 

[Browser]

First thing this year is to get my bicycle back on the road so I can get myself back down from obese to just plain old overweight, then maybe get back down to 'weight' if you catch my drift.
I will also this year get all of my pension paperwork out, find out what I've got where and get a projection done of how much I have saved already and how much I need to be putting away to be able to retire in relative comfort. That said, at 53 I'd really like to look for an expandable side gig which might give me an out from my current full-time job in the Energy From Waste industry, which pays well but has **Language**-all job satisfaction.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

So far January has been phenomenally busy and very fruitful.

Spent the last week meeting clients in the GCC countries, kicked off a new project, picked up three more projects, restarted one that stalled last year, and gained two new prospects.

There's also 7 new projects, 4 new prospects and 3 new partnerships spanning countries all the way from Latin America to West Africa and onwards all the way to China.


Lots of opportunity out there, and a British accent and UK based company really can be a selling point to a surprising number of countries...

Whilst people here seem to have lost faith in British Manufacturing there's still a strong appetite for our goods and know-how around the world.

 

[dobbslc]

Found out we've lost a very big job in London to a company no one has heard of.
I should start selling brown envelopes...

 

[bricol]

Lots of opportunity out there, and a British accent and UK based company really can be a selling point to a surprising number of countries...

Whilst people here seem to have lost faith in British Manufacturing there's still a strong appetite for our goods and know-how around the world.

A point I've made before and probably will again.
Britain still has a good reputation around the world in engineers and engineering. Something I delight in getting into answers to various immigration desks around the world when I'm asked why I'm visiting . . . "Because we're the best at doing what we do".

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

A point I've made before and probably will again.
Britain still has a good reputation around the world in engineers and engineering. Something I delight in getting into answers to various immigration desks around the world when I'm asked why I'm visiting . . . "Because we're the best at doing what we do".

The last long conversation I had at an immigration desk was a very bored DNPAF agent with unusually good english at Charles De Gaulle airport trying to convince me that as an "adventurous young man with a solid build" rather than taking my flight to Algeria to go fix something for Sonatrach in the desert, what I should really do was get a metro to Fort de Nogent and become a Legionnaire.

He eventually conceded that maybe the Foreign Legion wasn't for everyone, and allowed me to leave France.

Going back to the point, my employer's other business unit sells manufactured goods, and we retain a limited assembly capability and supply chain of subcon component manufacturers in the UK because certain clients will only accept British made and specify that in their tenders.

About 20% of our sales are of UK made goods, another 30% EU made, and the rest from Turkey, India, or China...

We also design and sell small vessels, of which about 50% are built by yards in Finland or Estonia, with the rest going to yards in Goa, Singapore or Saudi Arabia.

 

[bricol]

I do wonder how some companies year will look . . . sent out a new drawing for quotes yesterday - I was expecting 2-300 quid each for 25 off.

First quote back - £550 ea.
Another at £395
One around the region I was expecting and was prepared to go for £265.

And then lunchtime today . . £130.

All respected existing suppliers to us, all pass our incoming inspection with no issues well enough to mostly not be inspected, so there's no worries who will get the order . . . but does lead me to wonder if either end of that range will be around to quote in the future.

 

[Munkul]

I do wonder how some companies year will look . . . sent out a new drawing for quotes yesterday - I was expecting 2-300 quid each for 25 off.

First quote back - £550 ea.
Another at £395
One around the region I was expecting and was prepared to go for £265.

And then lunchtime today . . £130.

All respected existing suppliers to us, all pass our incoming inspection with no issues well enough to mostly not be inspected, so there's no worries who will get the order . . . but does lead me to wonder if either end of that range will be around to quote in the future.

I bet the first quote you got was actually subcontracting the work to the last one... Had that a few times

I had a well established machining company pester my boss before Christmas for work, apparently they were quiet... Boss got onto me telling me to give them RFQ and plenty of time for their responses... I waited a good 2 weeks for the quote... Then got a call off one of the regular companies we use "I've just been asked to quote all of this work for another company, just thought you should know in case of some funny business" cheers pal, no worries, i can absolutely guarantee you'll get the work this time around once again

 

[ukracer]

Just need a few winter storms and the phone will be ringing off the hook...(hopefully)

There's one coming Friday....