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SOUTHERN REGIONAL COLLEGE SHOWCASE BUSINESS LINKS AT STORMONT
How Northern Ireland colleges can help local businesses and what services they provide was the subject of a Committee breakfast meeting, which took place at Parliament Buildings, Stormont.
The work that has taken place between Southern Regional College and Kellys, Warrenpoint over the past three years was presented as an example of what can be done when an innovative progress company engage fully with their local Further Education College.
The Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Employment and Learning highlighted that Colleges and businesses in Northern Ireland must work together to help Northern Ireland weather the economic storm and stressed their commitment to promoting this relationship and to improving the skills of local people.
MLA Dolores Kelly, Chair of the Employment and Learning Committee, has put the full authority of her Committee behind this important initiative. She said: "In the current climate, and the probable cuts to the Executive budget, we need to be much more focused on making the most of public investment. We cannot afford to have a workforce that is not highly skilled, highly motivated and highly employable, with well developed transferable skills."
"I believe that our colleges have a key role to play. Not only are they instrumental in providing targeted training, they are working to equip our young people with skills needed to succeed in new sectors, such as renewable energy."
MLA Jonathan Bell, Deputy Chair of the Committee added: "Another crucial part of this important equation is support for local companies. Our local colleges are already playing a vital role by providing a wide range of professional, vocational, technical courses and pioneering new opportunities in emerging markets.
Kellys is a family run business located in Warrenpoint, Co. Down. They commenced trading in 1967 with the main areas of business including; Building Contractors, Builders Merchants, supplying building materials to trade as well as DIY Supplies, Paint and Design Centre, Plant, Machinery and Scaffold Hire and Renewable Energy Solutions.
Conor Kelly, General Manager of Kellys commented "We have been particularly impressed with the effort Southern Regional College has invested in meeting our needs. The type and nature of support required by a business like ours is different to that of larger companies. The level and quality of support we have received to date is reflective of the College's commitment to providing support that truly reflects the needs of smaller businesses. We have signed a Partnership Agreement with SRC, as, due to our experiences to date we are keen to further develop our engagement with the College. We, as a company, have a reputation for "building through Innovation", our partnership and interactions with SRC has placed us in a better position to continue developing and responding innovatively to the needs of our customers and our sector to ensure the future of the Kellys."
(L-R) Kevin McDonald (Kellys HR Manager), Michelle Kennedy (SRC Client Relationship Executive), Conor Kelly (General Manager of Kellys) and James McAloon (SRC Business Development Officer).