Very occasionally I come across an initiative that makes me sit back from my desk and say: "Now why didn't anyone think of that before!" That happened this morning when I received a release about the Skill Exchange - although this time I thought: "I really hope that works."

You can read all about it below, but what the story doesn't tell you, your imagination will.

I know something slightly similar happens in the building industry whereby tradespeople 'call in favours'... a plasterer may find a slight leak in one of the pipes coming from the boiler, but rather than down tools until the householder's had it sorted, he (or she) will call in a gas fitter friend who'll quickly deal with the problem free of charge. That gas fitter will in turn call in the plaster to deal with any imperfections left by a boiler change - again free of charge. The job gets done, the householder is happy and will recommend the service of the initial tradesperson to family, friends and neighbours for his or her troubleshooting capabilities and networking skills.

I've experienced it on more than one occasion and I know it works.

Skill Exchange UK is a similar concept but one that works officially via the Internet. I only hope it takes off and that those employees who are 'loaned out' will look upon temporarily working for a different employer as a way of boosting experience, enhancing skills, improving that CV and even making new friends!

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Yours,

Jan Hobbs