New scheme promotes business success through collaboration

10 August 2005

Belfast`s businesses and graduates are being urged to collaborate in order to support each other up the ladder to mutual success.

Belfast City Council has teamed up with Belfast Institute and the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry to launch `Collaborate’ – a new programme aimed at helping local companies become more competitive by improving one or more aspects of their performance.

Six businesses will be offered the services of some of the city`s finest graduates to work on a specific project for them. The scheme is aimed at small environmental, creative or manufacturing businesses, with the aim of increasing their sales, profitability, overall competitiveness and marketability through research and innovation.

“Basically, we are looking for companies who have identified a project which they already have identified as being vitally important to the way their work is done, but who have not been able to implement it because of time or resources,” explained Councillor Michael Browne, Chairman of Belfast City Council`s Economic Development Sub-Committee.

“Through `Collaborate’, we are offering these six companies the full-time services of a highly-qualified, highly-motivated graduate, who will carry out this project on their behalf. And for the graduates involved, it offers them the chance to gain real experience, make a real contribution to the growth of a local employer and help themselves successfully bridge the gap between academic life and employment,” added Councillor Browne.

The `Collaborate’ team will support the selected companies through all stages of the project to make sure their business objectives are met in full. They will work with each business to create a detailed project specification, screen and select graduates to make sure their skills and personal qualities match those needed for the project, offer induction training to ensure that the chosen graduates are ready to undertake the task, and offer continuous advice and support.

More information is available from Lisa Trimble, Economic Development Officer, Belfast City Council, The Cecil Ward Building, 4 -10 Linenhall Street, Belfast, BT2 8BP, telephone 9027 0736 or e mail trimblelisa@belfastcity.gov.uk. The deadline for applications is September 5, with the six-month programme beginning in October.

`Collaborate’ is partly funded by the Building Sustainable Prosperity Fund.

ENDS

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