Investors in People awards focus on skills success

Investors in People Awards successes highlight that developing a skilled and knowledgeable workforce will boost Northern Ireland's productivity and competitiveness over the next 10 years.

That was the key message from the Department for Employment and Learning's Deputy Secretary Greg McConnell as he met representatives of 80 local organisations who recently achieved the Investors in People Standard.

Paying tribute to their efforts, during a presentation ceremony at Hillsborough Castle on Wednesday, Mr McConnell said: "Investors in People is a means by which local employers can help ensure bottom-line business results. It is only by equipping people with the knowledge, skills and ability to do their job that businesses can maximise the performance and output of their workforce.

"We are pleased to see so many organisations here today demonstrating a very clear commitment to workforce development. It is a promising sign for the local economy and should serve as an example to other Northern Ireland employers not yet capitalising from the benefits of this business improvement framework."

Stressing that Investors in People recognition was not the end of the journey for Award recipients, he added: "In many regards, today's ceremony is the start of a process for these organisations. It should not be seen therefore as the culmination of a project, but rather the beginning of a sustained commitment to long-term business performance through employee development."

Investors in People is a business improvement tool that helps organisations to compete and succeed through improved people performance. The framework is designed to help organisations develop the knowledge and skills of their people, so that what they can do, is what the business needs them to do. A new version of the Standard, designed to meet the changing needs of business and industry, was launched on 17 November 2004 and came into effect in January 2005.

(SP)