.Business Improvement Techniques (B-IT) is a vocational qualification funded by the Department for Employment and Learning. It gives employees a platform to demonstrate that they can develop quality, cost and delivery improvements in the workplace which can lead to reduced costs and improved business productivity. Some 138 staff have completed B-IT training with 82 staff successfully competing their qualification. A further 13 employees will complete the NVQ in early 2010.
In presenting the awards Sir Reg said: “My Department is about people, skills and jobs. People are at the heart of a dynamic and innovative and sustainable economy. However the skills of our workforce play a vital role in raising productivity and increasing competitiveness of Northern Ireland companies.
“That is why I put in place the Business Improvement Techniques programme. I think it is critical that my Department helps companies to deliver improvements in individual company manufacturing processes and it is especially valuable when these improvements are developed by the company workforce.”
Sir Reg went on to detail an investment of just under £500,000 in the B-IT programme by his Department which will deliver over 400 trainees qualified at NVQ Level 2 and 3 during this financial year.
Thales, a leading international electronics and systems group that addresses Aerospace and Space, Defence and Security markets worldwide, employs over 500 staff at its Belfast site.
David Beatty, Managing Director of Thales in Belfast added: "In these difficult economic times we are pleased to report an upturn in our business with the recruitment of over 65 new employees in Northern Ireland. However, as we operate in a highly competitive world market we must continue to seek improvements in all our activities and the B-IT awards have provided an extra competitive edge to the highly skilled manufacturing workforce that we have in Northern Ireland."
For more information on the Business Improvement Techniques programme visit the DEL Website
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