Helping Employers
MATCHING the skills of employees to the needs of employers is vital to grow business in Northern Ireland, according to Enterprise,Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster. She was speaking at a recent Software Testers’ Academy ‘Meet the Employers’ event. The Software Testers’ Academy works with em-ployers to support graduates into employment. The past three academies...
Economy Driven by a Strong ICT Sector
THE ICT sector is a key driver for the growth of Northern Ireland’s economy. That was the message from Em-ployment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry as he addressed a conference organised by the ICT trade federation Momentum. Speaking at Scrum 2014, he acknowledged the strong skills base within Northern Ireland and highlighted the critical importance...
Architect Roger has Designs on Future
ULSTER University graduate, Roger Bonnar, has been named Northern Ireland’s top architecture student. Roger received the recognition from the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) for his work in creating a new vision for Glenarm Village. He was commended for his transfor-mation of a former industrial site into an innovative social hub for the community....
Tech firm SQS Group creates 30 new posts
Northern Ireland’s flourishing tech industry has been boosted by the creation of 30 new jobs at software services company SQS Group. The jobs will be shared out between the firm’s bases within the Northern Ireland Science Park’s two sites, in Belfast and Londonderry, and will bring their total employed to 82 by 2017. The Derry...
FameLab Launches global Competition for young Scientists
FameLab is looking for Northern Ireland’s brightest science star. If you’ve got what it takes then the British Council, in conjunction with the NI Sci-ence Festival and Cheltenham Science Festival, want to see you at their inaugural FameLab competition in Belfast’s Black Box on Wednesday, February 25, 2015. Held annually in over 20 countries in...
Family Firms Helped
QUEEN’S University has announced details of its latest leadership programme designed specifically for family businesses. The course, which starts on December 9, comes as a response to statistics that show that while 77% of businesses are family owned in the Republic and 740/0 in Northern Ireland, only 3.2% survive past a third generation. The Family...
Producing Winners
GILFRESH Produce, a family-run vegetable-growing company based in Loughgall which employs approximately 130 staff, is among 40 organisations from Northern Ireland celebrating their Investors in People (HP) accreditation. Three of the 40 businesses celebrating HP success achieved an additional level accreditation. Kinder-tree Community Playgroup, Relate Northern Ireland and St Patrick’s Primary School in Magherafelt all...
Academy Launched
EMPLOYMENT and Learning Minister Stephen Farry and Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster have welcomed the launch of Anew Graduate Export Sales and Marketing Academy. The Academy aims to pro-vide graduates with the skills and experience required to take up exciting new exporting opportunities in both the sales and marketing arenas. Targeting HND, degree...
New Role for Glyn
GLYN Roberts, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (NIIRTA) has been appointed as the new independent, non-executive, chair of Colleges Northern Ireland. He said: “Our FE sector does a fantastic job in supporting local business and the economy as whole. The six regional colleges have a key role to play in...
Exchange Programme places still up for Grabs
THERE is still time to apply for an exchange programme offering students from Northern Ireland technical experience overseas. IAESTE (International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience) sees students from all scientific and technical disciplines undertake work placements across the globe during the summer months. The placements, available in a wide range of...