Limavady employment options discussed
23 January 2008
Employment Minister, Sir Reg Empey, today visited Limavady for discussions with stakeholders surrounding the closures of both the Seagate Technology plant and Huco Lightronic NI Limited.
He held meetings with Limavady Borough Council, Roe Valley Chamber of Trade and Commerce and the Management and Employee Forum from Seagate Technology to discuss employment options for those being made redundant by the closure of the two local businesses.
Officials from the Department for Employment and Learning have been engaging with the companies since the announcement of the redundancies back in November 2007 and Sir Reg assured the various groups that his Department will do everything possible to assist in finding alternative employment.
Speaking after the day of engagements, the Minister said: “There is no doubt that the North West has been dealt a hard blow with the recent announcements of these business closures. However, my Department’s staff in the North West are experienced in managing such large redundancy caseloads, due to the decline of the textile sector in previous years. It is encouraging to note that this decline did not result in any significant increase in unemployment as workers found alternative work in sectors they had not thought of previously. It is envisaged that the same will happen when employees from Seagate and Huco complete their redundancy period.”
Sir Reg outlined how his Department is helping the employees during the redundancy period. He said: “The North West Regional College is in the process of conducting a Training Needs Analysis to determine the skills levels and training needs of the workforce affected and this exercise will be completed by the end of January. Parallel to this exercise my Department is working with a number of associated stakeholders, such as the groups I have met today, to provide advice to these employees on gaining new employment, including self employment, education and training, job search careers and benefits.”
Over the last few months there has been and continues to be an increase in job vacancies in the North West, with companies including Invista, Northbrook Technology, AXA, Fujitsu, Perfectseal, Stream International, Firstsource, GEM and JMT Direct all recruiting staff.
The Minister thanked the representatives of Limavady Borough Council and Roe Valley Chamber of Trade and Commerce for their offer to work in partnership with his Department to ensure everything possible is done for those in the North West affected by the closures.
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