Paralympic winner special guest at agency

Councillor Billy Ashe, chairman of the new Mid and East Antrim Council, tries on Mallusk Paralympic athlete Michael McKillops gold medals for size to the amusement of fellow Councillor Paul Reid at an event to mark LEDCOM achieving Investors in People Gold status. INCT 42-703-CON

LEDCOM, which runs the Northern Zone Enterprise Hub which includes Carrickfergus, is the first local enterprise centre in Northern Ireland and the first social enterprise with less than 25 employees to achieve Investors in People (IiP) Gold.

Directors and staff were joined at a special celebration in the Willowbank Rural Conference Centre in Larne by multi-gold medal Paralympic winner Michael McKillop. Also attending was Carrick Councillor Billy Ashe, who has been elected Chair of the new Mid and East Antrim Council.

The company runs the Social Entrepreneurship Programme in Carrick, an Invest NI programme aimed at supporting social economy business start-ups and providing business development support. Other courses offered in the borough include the Learner Engagement Access Programme and the Exploring Enterprise Programme.

LEDCOM chief executive Officer, Ken Nelson said: “I would like to pay tribute to everyone at LEDCOM who have worked tirelessly to put us among the 1% of IiP accredited organisations across the UK to achieve gold status.

“We are constantly striving for excellence within economic development and this Gold award is recognition of the past 29 years of supporting local businesses and individuals wanting to further their careers.”

During the event, Bill Gordon, Assessment manager of Investors in People Northern Ireland (Department for Employment and Learning) outlined the benefits of the initiative.

He said: “LEDCOM has been IiP accredited for seven years and it is the first local enterprise centre to achieve IiP Gold status. We hope this will encourage others to both pursue IiP approval and for those already with accreditation to aim for higher level recognition.”