Enterprise NI rewarded for Excelllent Management

The management excellence of Enterprise Northern Ireland (ENI) has been rewarded as the organisation was named the ‘Outstanding Training Provider’ at the prestigious Chartered Management Institute (CMI) awards in central London.

ENI was the only organisation from Northern Ireland to scoop such an award, fending off strong competition from 41 shortlisted candidates across a range of sectors and regions of the UK. A total of 12 awards were presented to organisations that had demonstrated exceptional performance in specific business areas such as governance, sustainability and financial management.

Gordon Gough, CEO of Enterprise Northern Ireland emphasised how the award reflected the dedicated ethos of staff in all the Local Enterprise Agencies (LEAs) in Northern Ireland: “This award isn’t a one-off; it’s the culmination of a lot of on-going effort in local communities across Northern Ireland. Over the last two years, there have been almost 20,000 one-to-one meetings between our advisers and local people who have had a business idea. There is real strength in depth across all of our LEAs and this is the kind of high-quality work that they deliver week in, week out. The recognition of the CMI of our excellence in training and development will only spur our team on to deliver even greater service for those who rely on our programmes.”

“We have assisted almost 7000 new business start-ups and made almost £1.3 million of funding available to 200 small businesses through the ENI Small Business Loan Fund. ENI is committed to driving the growth agenda and these kinds of targeted interventions deliver vital skills and resources to people at the front-line of job creation in Northern Ireland.”

Enterprise Northern Ireland is the representative body for Local Enterprise Agencies across Northern Ireland and aims to promote local entrepreneurship, growing Northern Irish firms in order to deliver substantial and sustainable economic development for Northern Ireland. Through its training and development initiatives, it advises members and acts as a representative for members with state and private sector bodies involved in the delivery of enterprise and economic programmes.

Stanley Wallace, Ireland Business Manager at the CMI commented on the calibre of entries brought before the awards committee this year: “The standard of entries has shown us what is possible for organisations to achieve when they proactively take steps to improve their management and leadership skills. It’s great to see Northern Ireland represented in the winners of the awards for the second consecutive year. We know ENI are worthy winners because of the tireless work that they have carried out in improving the skills of entrepreneurs who are the lifeblood of the economy in Northern Ireland. Strong and well-developed management training initiatives such as those offered by ENI deliver a real boost to the businesses that operate here.”

The Chartered Management Institute, a professional body devoted to promoting management and leadership excellence in the UK, has been providing advice and support to firms in the UK for over 50 years. It has 90,000 individual and 450 corporate members and offers accreditation and professional development in the fields of management excellence. CMI is the founder of the National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership, setting standards that are followed across the industry.

Source: http://www.businessfirstonline.co.uk/