BELFAST Metropolitan College (Belfast Met) has been crowned a winner at Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Chamber Business Awards for 2016.
The Springvale Campus of the college was awarded the Education and Business Partnership award for Northern Ireland for its work with leading companies including Deloitte, EY and FinTrU. Judges commented that the college “plays a significant role within the Belfast city economy and is a major driving for growth and jobs.”
The Chamber Awards is a highlight of the business calendar, showcasing the pivotal role local businesses play in the UK’s continuing growth story. Belfast Met will now compete with other regional winners in the national finals in a bid to win the top UK business accolade in their category and a chance, as overall winner, to open the London Stock Exchange in early 2017.
The national winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Chamber Awards Gala Dinner on November 24 2016 at the Brewery in London.
Siobhan Lyons, Head of Business Development at the college said: “Belfast Met is delighted to have won the Business and Education Partnership Award 2016.
We are committed to working in partnership with business to design tailored solutions to ensure that they can access the skills required to help them grow.
“We have successfully delivered a wide range of academies through the Assured Skills Programme, working with over 500 students of which, 93 per cent of them have secured employment upon completion. We are continuing to develop and deliver further academy programmes in partnership with industry.”
Congratulating the college on the accolade Nick Coburn, President of Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NI Chamber), said: “Further Education plays an important role in meeting the skills needs of local and regional employers — and NI Chamber commends Belfast Met on its collaboration with industry.
“Our judging teams across the country are consistently impressed by the number of high calibre entrants in the awards, and this year’s competitors are no different. The creativity and determination shown by our entrants is a source of encouragement, knowing that the Northern Ireland economy is being driven by such hard-working and talented professionals.”