Although the HR specialists avoid estimating a net value of the outplacement market, they all say the services are seeing a rise in activity.

Outplacement, deemed as a vehicle for a friendly redundancy between employer and employee, is a mean of career coaching, an industry that helps find jobs and rebuild careers for those who lose their jobs.

“It is obvious that the demand for outplacement services will rise further on, with a financial sector bracing itself for redundancies. We expect a rise in demand from middle and large companies, national and multinational, with solid human resources department and a work culture that entails a special concern for own employees. Amid a dwindling economy, we will probably see an increase in demand for outplacement services, with many companies already attaching this facility in their own portfolio”, Corina Diaconu, managing director at ABC Human Capital told Wall-Street.

The company, she noted, recorded a 10-15% increase in demand for outplacement and expects further rise in turnover until mid 2009.

Marian Manolache, managing partner at Skill Team expects a roughly 15 million euro rise in amounts allocated to outplacement, counting down the redundancy pays for downsized employees.

HR specialists with Aims Human Capital have also felt the demand for outplacement services as one of the few positive effects set off by the financial crisis. The firm recorded a rising demand compared to more than a year of full absence, according to Madalina Unceanu, executive director at Aims Human Capital.

Although the players see an upward trend for this type of services, the outplacement is still not among the top priorities of employers. “I haven’t seen so far any company to say the budgets allocated to layoffs are not designed for other than redundancy pays. I think it is a service that many consider to be ‘e