The Olympic Games - Beyond the Tabloid Scaremongering

And the winning city, hosting the 2012 Olympic Games is... Cue: sharp intake of breath from everyone across the globe and a long, dramatic pause from the man on the stage... London.

Whilst Paris wept, London, in the main, rejoiced. There were winners and losers in London and the UK too. The tax payers saw their money go on Olympic villages and stadiums. In hindsight, the Olympics was probably a better use of tax payers money than over exuberant MP expenses on bizarre whims.

But the big winners were those charged with actually making it happen. These lucky people are getting to build a dynasty for the Stratford and the East End of London which will stand for many years to come. And they're getting paid for it too. Then there's the ripple effect as so many industries feel the benefit. The benefits of the Olympics can have far reaching positives that stretch deep into the whole economy. As an example, looking beyond the obvious, there's a huge demand for skilled labour - so think of the recruitment companies, safety equipment, clothing manufacturers and training companies involved. Virtually every company within these sectors can experience growth and with that wonderful stepping-stone now in place, that expansion can continue long after the sound of winners' national anthems have died out.

Imagine the demand for something as critical as plumbing courses, electrical courses and gas courses. Without these, there'd be no skilled labour, and without that, there'd be no Olympic games. A sobering thought.

The reality is that, despite the negativity expressed in the tabloids, the Olympics is far more than just about taxpayers money, it's about jobs, growth, economic expansion and of course gold medals. The world's focus will be on London in 2012. That kind of PR for tourism alone is worth billions, although it's largely ignored in the calculations of financial types fascinated more by the short-term chase for £-signs than the deeper-rooted feel-good-factor of a nation.

The recession has bitten many, but many believe that once achieving growth in a recession can place a company in a better position once the economic comes back from the brink. With the natural economic expansion occurring around 2012, the future appears brighter for many of our companies in related (and many unrelated) industries.

So in summary, even though the outlay may initially seem high, it's worth considering how big an impact the winning of a few gold medals has on a nation, its businesses, its employees and therefore our public.

Paul Keene works together with OLCI Construction Training who offer a range of electrical, gas and [http://www.olci.info/]plumbing courses from their 13 national training centres.

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