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Some international consultants have particularly suffered due to the global recession and the challenge facing many is to move into areas of business retaining a high demand for professional services.

This is not easy for some technical based organisations whose skills are not easily transferable.

We have found historically that whenever there is an economic downturn there are proportionately more disputes.

Whilst there may be less building work, due to the rise in disputes in the industry, we have noticed an increased demand for our services. We help clients avoid and resolve these disputes quickly, so they can concentrate on finishing projects successfully and winning other work.

We are also involved in some long term major projects which smoothes the effect of the recession in the industry.

We st Hill are fortunate to have a high retention rate of existing clients and strive to maintain repeat business by providing clients with an excellent service.

Due to the rise in disputes in the industry, we have noticed an increased demand for our services

We are also receiving a good number of new enquiries, which is in no small part due to the quality and reputation of our staff.

Work harder and face challenges

However, we recognise the need to work hard in these turbulent times and are learning from the challenges faced by the industry.

The active markets that can keep professionals busy in the years to come are the power, oil and gas and major infrastructure project sectors.

Within these sectors there are new challenges and certainly the investment in new nuclear power plants and to a lesser extent, alternative energy projects will help to alleviate the current employment difficulties in the industry.

Whilst there is also a well-publicised turndown in activity in Dubai, we have seen that many other areas of the Middle East, such as Qatar, continue to thrive.

The active markets that can keep professionals busy in the years to come are the power, oil and gas and major infrastructure project sectors

Hill is extremely busy in the claims business in the Middle East and has been recently requesting assistance from UK claims staff to supplement our teams in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Unfortunately, the UK market seems to have been hit far harder than other areas and it is sad to see many talented professionals having to seek alternative employment.

Let us hope that not too many are lost from the construction industry as no doubt in a few years there will be another construction boom.