Barahaven Construction, a Dungannon construction company with 32 employees, is one of 37 organisations from across Northern Ireland awarded with the prestigious Investors in People (IiP) accreditation.

Dr Stephen Farry, Minister for Employment and Learning, congratulated those receiving the business award at a celebration event held in Hillsborough Castle.

The Minister praised recipients, saying: "I am encouraged to see a group drawn from the private, public and voluntary sectors reflecting a cross section of NI employers who recognise the business benefits of Investors in People. Organisations represented today range from those with 4 employees to one with over 2000 employees right across Northern Ireland. This includes businesses from the hospitality, retail, construction, information technology, caring services, engineering, travel, art and photography areas as well as those in the public and voluntary sectors.

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"Skills are widely identified as the main component in the modern knowledge-based economy and the skills of Northern Ireland's workforce have a vital role in helping the country reach its full potential. Increasing the skills of those people already in the workforce is vital if we are to have the skills the economy needs to help it to grow. One approach to developing the skills of our workforce is through Investors in People as it specialises in transforming business performance through people."

Barahaven has been in the construction business for 35 years and specialises in public and social housing type work. Geographical regions covered are Belfast to Fermanagh and to the Republic. Their workforce has a wide range of skills including plumbing, electrics, painting, bricklaying, etc.

Two of the 37 accreditations included the Centre for Health and Wellbeing who achieved Bronze level and the PSNI Crime Branch who achieved Silver level, both at the time of their first assessments.

(CD)