A new Engineering Innovation Programme was launched in Cookstown recently, to help ambitious engineering businesses to accelerate their growth and innovation prospects.

The programme will assist a number of small engineering businesses in the Cookstown district to develop new product and process developments and business improvement techniques.

Cookstown District Council and the European Regional Development Fund have backed the scheme under the European Sustainable Competitiveness Fund for Northern Ireland.

It is set to provide a timely boost to the local engineering sector, which contributes strongly to Cookstown's economic performance, making up a large slice of the manufacturing sector which employs up to 23% of the local workforce.

The programme is free of charge for eligible engineering businesses to participate, the council said.

Cookstown Enterprise Centre, in association with the InnoTech Centre at South West College, will deliver the training.

Ciaran Higgins, Manager of Cookstown Enterprise Centre, said the Programme presented an opportunity to foster a new culture of innovation that would help revitalise the local economy.

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He said: "The Engineering Innovation Programme is about putting knowledge and resources within the grasp of small engineering businesses to guide them in their future development, to access support and to become more sustainable.

"It is vital that even the smallest businesses have the opportunity to access professional business support and capitalise on innovative ideas to enhance their future competitiveness."

Dr Jill Cush, Senior Lecturer at the InnoTech Centre, said: "In the last three years we have managed innovation and economic development programmes bringing technological and management solutions to industrial problems and assisting the uptake of modern product design."

Commenting on the Programme, Councillor Tony Quinn, Chairman of Cookstown District Council welcomed the initiative.

He said: "Over the course of the last year, the Cookstown District has experienced one of the highest percentage increases in unemployment levels throughout Northern Ireland.

"We have witnessed firsthand the heartbreaking news of local companies having to shed jobs, reduce working hours, and make the difficult choice of closure.

"I trust the programme's introduction will go some way towards providing the support required to assist our engineering sector which provides a significant proportion of local jobs and provide the help they need to facilitate the ‘green shoots’ of recovery and future growth."

The programme will also deliver two expert seminars over the course of the next year which will be accessible to all engineering businesses throughout the Cookstown District.

The seminars will aim to better inform local engineering businesses on the benefits of employing innovation-focused practices and business improvement techniques.

To receive further information on the Engineering Innovation Programme, including business eligibility criteria and application forms, contact Cookstown Enterprise Centre on 028 867 63660.

All completed applications must be returned to Cookstown Enterprise Centre by 12 noon on Friday 4 September 2009.

(PR/GK)