LEDCOM celebrates 30th anniversary
NORTHERN Ireland enterprise centre LEDCOM is celebrating 30 years of job creation, support for small businesses and vocational training of long-term unemployed. Over the past three decades LEDCOM (Local Economic Development Company) has helped create more than 900 small businesses providing 1,500 new jobs; 90 new social enterprises with 250 jobs, and has helped a...
Allstate NI Dragons’ Den Project Helping People With Autism Find Work
A new website, designed and developed free by Allstate NI as part of a Dragon’s Den style Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, will make a massive difference to a fledgling social enterprise that is changing the way businesses think about people on the Autistic Spectrum. Specialisterne NI, formed in 2014, is a specialist recruitment agency...
Woodland project wins £3,000 award for students
AN INSPIRING student environmental project that transformed neglected woodland on the South Eastern Regional College grounds into an outdoor classroom has won a £3,000 windfall. The SERC Woodland Project won the award for promoting environmental sustainability at the 2015 Idox Innovation Awards. Now in their 30th year, the Idox Awards recognise, reward and raise the...
Ledcom is recognised with prestigious award
LEDCOM has become the first Northern Ireland enterprise centre to be granted the coveted Customer Service Excellence (CSE) Standard. It also becomes the first social enterprise in Northern Ireland with under 50 employees to achieve accreditation under the prestigious UK-wide CSE Standard. Ledcom chief executive Ken Nelson said achieving the standard was recognition of the...
Panto Magic Adds up for Hospice
ACCOUNTANCY and advisory firm BDO Northern Ireland raised £8,000 for the Northern Ireland’s Children’s Hospice by staging a Christmas pantomime. Staff from the firm swapped their suits for colourful costumes to perform the festive favourite Aladdin at the MAC theatre in Belfast last month, attended by more than 450 people. BDO partner and Aladdin cast...
Skills Programme
THE importance of developing management and leadership skills in Northern Ireland was highlighted at the launch of a new training programme at Queen’s University, Belfast. The brainchild of First Trust Bank, the programme is a response to feedback from corporate customers concerned about the depth of their companies’ leadership skills and the potential impact on...
DMS Awards Night
THE annual DMS Awards took place in Belfast last night. John McGurk was there to represent the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) nationally, along with members of the CIPD Northern Ireland Branch, and candidates receiving recognition, colleagues,family and leading HR/L&D professionals. Speaking before the event, DMS managing director Lynn Carson said: “Our awards...
Students on marks for Almac Challenge
PHARMACEUTICAL firm Almac has taken a unique approach to student work placements with an all-day assessment and workshop programme facilitated by education consultancy Eye4Education. Almost 70 year 13 and 14 chemistry students from the Craigavon area took part in the inaugural Almac Challenge which will select up to 24 pupils for placement positions in the...
University seeks top placement employer
ULSTER University is calling for nominations to find Northern Ireland’s number one placement employer. The university’s Placement Employer of the Year Awards celebrate the dedication of local businesses, across all sectors, in providing students with the skills to let them apply their academic knowledge to real-life practice. Explaining why work placements are vital to ensure...
Search is on to find science stars of the future
ASPIRING science stars still have time to enter FameLab Northern Ireland 2016. The science communication competition aims to discover scientists or engineers who can entertain audiences by breaking down science, technology or engineering concepts in just three minutes. Those who make it through to the final will be awarded an exclusive Golden Ticket to 2016’s...