…and here we are again – another year older, another year wiser (hopefully); Lighthouse Personnel is 7!
We started the year with new plans for enhancements to our services and our usual enthusiasm which, although waivered at times, pulled us through another post covid rollercoaster. The cost-of-living crisis eased in early-mid 2024, but then a change of government later on in the year brought in new employment law proposals and a budget that rocked the UK. It’s been another wild year for sure! The development of AI has been the topic of conversation for the year and will clearly dominate the business headlines for 2025.
As always there’s plenty to take from the year, lots to learn from it, and even more to look forward to.
A Significant Year for Lighthouse:
Although it was another unpredictable year which brought with it some new challenges, there were of course a couple of nice successes to highlight;
We celebrated 400 placements from 114 clients which feels a significant milestone, especially having pushed through the covid years.
Our ‘Three Best Rated’ status was maintained.
As the end of the year has been approaching, I have been beavering away in the background with some interesting new developments that will be happening during the turn of the year;
I have been working with some local partners in putting together some new workshops for hiring businesses, and for jobseekers
We are focusing on building further referral partnerships
We are enhancing our recruitment offering for the BID industry
We have a shiny new website in production (keep your eyes peeled!)
And last but by no means least; we have launched our new sister company ‘Lighthouse Executive’ which I am hugely excited about
Reflecting on the year as a business, we needed to steady the ship in the choppy waters of the economy, to enable us to push on later in the year and I feel we have done that. I think we will look back at the end of 2025 and realise just how significant 2024 was for us in building the business for the future.
A Significant Year for Me:
Personally, the start of the year really challenged me and I’m sure it didn’t help with my ever-growing grey hair collection!
The summer was great as Rosey and I managed to have three weeks off on a cruise and camping with the kids (we definitely did those the wrong way round!), which was much needed and helped me to rejuvenate to finish the year strong.
As I turned 36, I started my second season playing vets football (despite having 2 months out injured so far), and continue to support the coaching of my sons team.
I have started volunteering every other week at a local school as a Business Mentor, and started helping at a local Youth Group once a month on a Friday evening.
It’s been a very enjoyable ride being the President of the Colchester ‘Iceni’ chapter of BNI, and I am hoping to finish my tenure strongly when it comes to an end in March.
I was very fortunate to have the awesome Damien Demolder produce some amazing pictures of me by the Lighthouse we are named after.
Finally, I am planning a small event for Christian Business Owners in January too.
I love being a father and husband, and this year has been no different on that front!
To Summarise:
The transition from 2023 to 2024 was a challenging few months that really tested me, but we steadied the ship and have given ourselves an exciting platform to build off for 2025.
We are exploring lots of innovative new projects currently to adapt and grow, all of which will continue to make us stand out. I am particularly excited by our plans for Lighthouse Executive and really believe this gives us another edge.
The last 4 years have taught us to expect the unexpected and so we are ready for that. In uncertain times like the post covid world we’re living in, those who are brave and innovate / adapt will be the ones who reap the rewards. So, on that note; 2025 needs to be ready for us because we’re coming for it!