NIE Networks employees recognised at Company & Apprentice Awards

NIE Networks held their annual Company & Apprentice Awards at the Galgorm Hotel last month to celebrate the work of colleagues and apprentices.

Nominations were sought from across all 1400 NIE Networks employees and a total of 16 awards were handed out including Apprentice of the Year, Graduate of the Year, Undergraduate of the Year, Company Mentor and Apprentice Mentor Awards.

Paula Leathem, Head of HR, said: “Reward and recognition are an important strand of our employee package so days like today are really important in our annual calendar to ensure our employees feel valued and are recognised for the outstanding work they do.  It’s also a great team and networking day when colleagues get to meet others they may not see very often so there’s great camaraderie and a real buzz in the room.”

There were also awards for dedication in specialist areas including Sustainability Stewardship, Mental Health, Role Model behaviours, Customer Service and Advancing Diversity.

Winner of the Advancing Diversity Award, Emily Boyd, explained why the award means so much: “One of my employees is deaf so to be awarded the Advancing Diversity Award means so much to me as I really wanted him to feel welcomed and valued and to support him in his role so he could work to his full potential.  Through NIE Networks Diversity and Inclusion Forum, I’ve undertaken deaf awareness training which was really insightful and useful and I’m also going to attend sign language training which the company is rolling out shortly.  For other colleagues to have nominated me for this award means alot as it’s something I feel really passionately about and to be able to work outside of my day-to-day role to make a difference for other employees is beyond what I thought I could achieve and it’s lovely to be a part of that.”

Employees who had received qualifications throughout the year were also recognised for their achievements.

NIE Networks recently announced a £3bn investment plan for the next seven years which will include the introduction of 1000 new jobs.  Recruitment is already underway and anyone interested in job opportunities should visit nienetworks.co.uk/careers for more info.
 

Pic caption: Emily Boyd, Advancing Diversity Champion receives her award from Derek Hynes, Managing Director of NIE Networks.