Investors In People Rewarded

People power came to the fore this week with news that 37 local business organisations have been presented with the prestigious 'Investors in People' accreditation.

The awards were made by NI Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, who said that Investors in People (IiP) has long been acknowledged as an important international marque of good business practice.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony at Hillsborough Castle, Sir Reg paid tribute to the organisations receiving awards: "The uptake of Investors in People in Northern Ireland is an encouraging sign for the local economy and should serve as an example to other employers not yet capitalising on the bottom line business benefits of the standard.

"The importance of local businesses investing in their people is particularly relevant at this difficult time for industry, not only in Northern Ireland but on a worldwide scale.

"To ensure productivity and motivation levels do not suffer in the current climate, it's important that employers actively manage change in the right way," he said noting that IiP provides an excellent framework to provide employers with a practical, user-friendly business improvement framework.

The Minister also pointed out that recognition of IiP was only the 'start of the journey' for award winners and should not be seen as the end of a project.

He said that accreditation was only the beginning of a sustained commitment to long term business improvement through skills acquisition and employee engagement, noting that over 1,500 small, medium and large organisations from all sectors and sizes of business in Northern Ireland are currently working with the Investors in People Standard.

(BMcC)