One of Northern Ireland’s leading business development organisations has struck gold by becoming the first local enterprise agency (LEA) to achieve the top Investors in People award.
LEDCOM is the first local enterprise centre in Northern Ireland and the first social enterprise with less than 25 employees to achieve the prestigious Investors in People (IiP) Gold.
LEDCOM directors and staff were joined at a special celebration in the Willowbank Rural Conference Centre in Larne by another great Northern Ireland success story, multi Gold Medal Paralympic winner Michael McKillop.
LEDCOM Chief Executive Officer, Ken Nelson said the award showed the company’s deep commitment to achieving excellence in developing and supporting its staff and continually improving its quality of service as a business support organisation.
“I would like to pay tribute to everyone at LEDCOM who have worked tirelessly to put us among the 1% of IiP accredited organisations across the UK to achieve gold status.
“We are constantly striving for excellence within economic development and this Gold award is recognition of the past 29 years of supporting local businesses and individuals wanting to further their careers.”
During the event, Bill Gordon, the Assessment Manager of Investors in People Northern Ireland (Department for Employment and Learning) outlined the benefits of IiP and the support available to encourage organisations to seek accreditation.
He paid a glowing tribute to LEDCOM: “We are really pleased to be here today. LEDCOM has been IiP accredited for seven years and it is the first local enterprise centre to achieve IiP Gold status. We hope this will encourage others to both pursue IiP approval and for those already with accreditation to aim for higher level recognition.”
Michael McKillop, the Mallusk-based multi gold medal winning Paralympic athlete, spoke about how he overcame diversity to achieve ten gold medals. He said that a professional approach to training and a determination to succeed applies to any area of business as much as the sporting arena.
In an inspirational speech, Michael – who was born with cerebral palsy on his right side, didn’t speak until he was three years of age and developed epilepsy at the age of 14 – described how he overcame these hurdles to become a Paralympic champion.
Addressing LEDCOM management and staff, he said: “Life isn’t simple. Business isn’t simple. Getting a gold medal was a long journey. I had to build a team around me to achieve my goals. In business you have to work together to achieve your goals. There is a great similarity between my gold medal success and the process you had to go through to achieve your IiP Gold success.”
For more information about LEDCOM go to http://www.ledcom.org/, www.willowbankbusinesspark.com; www.wbpconferenceecentre.co.uk
