Certificates have been presented to NI apprentices who have excelled in national standard vocational qualifications.

The Stormont Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry, (pictured) has applauded Craigavon firm NACCO Materials Handling's commitment to workforce training and development.

During a visit to the company's Craigavon site, the Minister presented certificates to 28 staff who had achieved NVQ and apprenticeship qualifications during the year, as well as presenting the company with its Investor in People (IiP) Gold Standard Award.

Commending management and staff, the Alliance Minister said: "The awards are testament to the hard work and commitment of everyone here at NACCO.

"Whilst I acknowledge the pressures on employers in the current economic climate, experience shows that businesses willing to invest in workforce development during such times will be best placed to gain competitive advantage when recovery comes."

He said that NACCO has recently celebrated 30 years at the Craigavon Plant, which designs and engineers lift trucks and aftermarket parts under the Hyster and Yale brand names for export around the world.

Commenting on the achievements of staff, William Kerr, HR Manager at NACCO said: "This is a tremendous day for the entire workforce and we are pleased that our company and its people are receiving the recognition they so rightly deserve.

"We embarked on a journey two years ago with two main objectives - to develop our people and to ensure the competitiveness of our business.

"I believe we have done just that and there is no better demonstration of that than the achievement of these awards."

The NVQ training undertaken by NACCO was part funded by the Department for Employment and Learning and delivered by Southern Regional College to 19 staff, whilst Rutledge Recruitment and Training delivered the Department's flagship Apprenticeship programme in stores and warehousing to a further nine members of staff.

Dr Farry also made the official presentation of the IiP Gold standard, which is awarded to those organisations, which are able to demonstrate excellence in developing and supporting staff.

By demonstrating good practice in the day to day operation of their business and resulting in improved staff morale and enhanced leadership, NACCO recently became one of only 18 organisations in Northern Ireland to achieve this status with IiP which helps organisations to compete and succeed through improved people performance.

The Minister was then joined by representatives from Southern Regional College and Rutledge Recruitment and Training on a tour of the plant.

(BMcC/GK)