Partnership enhances knowledge based economy - Empey

23 May 2007

Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey, today joined in Craigavon Business Education Partnership’s (CBEP) 20th anniversary celebrations.  

During a visit to Lough Neagh Discovery Centre the Minister spoke to representatives from the local education and business world and praised them in their efforts in preparing young people for the new knowledge based economy.

He said: “It is essential that young people receive high quality, relevant education and training.  Many young people have benefited from the work of the CBEP, work which complements the aims of my department.”

The Minister provided a summary of the progress that there has been in the last year on the implementation of ‘Success through Skills’, Northern Ireland’s first comprehensive framework for the development of skills.  He explained: “Our world is changing.  The days of training being perceived as a second-rate alternative to academic education must, and will, come to an end.  For this reason, we are restructuring our main training programmes to ensure they are recognised as a significant and prestigious choice within the overall provision for 16-24 year olds.”

The Minister concluded: “Our young people are the most important resource for the future of our communities and indeed that of the local economic environment.  I congratulate the members of the Partnership for their continuing good work in preparing young people in the Craigavon area for the world of employment.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. ‘Success through Skills’, the Department for Employment and Learning’s Skills Strategy, was launched in March 2006 at the first Skills Conference by Angela Smith MP.

2. The Craigavon Business Education Partnership was established under its previous name of Links Across Commerce and Education (LACE) in 1987.

It has the aim of providing a basis for collaboration between industry and education to ensure that young people in the Craigavon area develop their full potential in the context of the workplace of the future and that local employers can address their labour market needs.

The Committee comprises representatives from all the interested parties including Craigavon Council, the Education Sector and some local business representatives and provides a comprehensive programme of activity to the young people of the Craigavon area including:

  • Interview Skills Days;
  • Work experience programmes;
  • Careers conventions;
  • Teacher placements into industry; and
  • Science and technology projects aimed at enhancing the awareness of careers in this sector.

3. Media queries to the Department for Employment and Learning Press Office on 028 9025 7872.