Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry has presented Schrader Electronics with the prestigious 'Gold' Investors in People Award.

The Gold award requires organisations to go beyond meeting the core Investors in people award, and Schrader is one of 35 Northern Ireland organisations who have achieved this to date.

Speaking at the company's premises in Antrim, Dr Farry said: "Schrader Electronics achievement of the prestigious Investors in People Gold award, which coincides with yesterday's significant jobs announcement, clearly demonstrates the company's commitment to staff development.

Minister Farry continued: "The accreditation highlights that if you invest in your employees and improve your employee engagement, success will ultimately follow. Skills are widely accepted as the key driver in how we in Northern Ireland can achieve our economic goals.

"Increased skill levels help firms adapt more quickly and effectively to change, and this in turn gives them more confidence to invest, to innovate, to seek out new markets and to expand.

"To achieve this we will need a workforce with higher level qualifications and with more focus on science, technology, engineering and maths skills. I therefore welcome the additional engineering jobs being created by Schrader which will ultimately benefit the local economy and improve our workforce skills."

(JP)