Ascendis head: Life would have been much sadder without European money

European money has been vital for the training market to survive the most difficult year it has experienced, says Andrei Gosu, general manager of Ascendis Consulting, the biggest player on the Romanian training market, with turnover worth around 3m euros in 2009. Ascendis got one of the biggest sums from EU funds for HR aimed at private firms, 2m euros. The project includes programmes for the development of entrepreneurial abilities of entrepreneurs, managers and SME employees. "It's a lot of work, but life would have been much sadder in Ascendis without this project. There were periods when consultants had nothing to do, and the two million euros kept things spinning in the company. There are many positive aspects of European funds, from a better morale among consultants, to permanent access to cash," states Ascendis manager. As part of the project due to be finalised this year, Ascendis provides training for 150-160 employees in small and medium-sized companies, meant to develop their management abilities in their relationship with clients, organisational culture, human resources or performance.