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» ASSA ABLOY OPENING Solutions UK & Ireland Door Group( Door Group) was delighted to sponsor the recent Young Enterprise Northern Ireland( Young Enterprise NI) Blast Off Programme award at the Dragons’ Den-style event, reinforcing its dedication to supporting young people in developing essential entrepreneurial skills.
Brian Sofley, Managing Director at Door Group, proudly joined the panel of judges to assess students’ innovative business ideas as part of this dynamic programme.
This is the latest event that sees Door Group continuing its role as a Young Enterprise NI Impact Partner. Through this partnership, Door Group
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colleagues actively engage in various programmes to provide valuable guidance and mentorship to students across Northern Ireland. Its team members have contributed their time and expertise to several Young Enterprise NI initiatives.
Brian explains:“ Over the past two years, I have been actively involved in mentoring student companies as part of the esteemed Company Programme; empowering students aged 15-19 to establish and manage their own businesses, earn real profits and compete for awards.
“ Our partnership underscores ASSA ABLOY Door Group’ s dedication to empowering future generations with the skills, confidence, and experience they need to succeed.
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“ In 2024, our mentored team from Friends’ School Lisburn, called BottleUp, successfully claimed the title of Northern Ireland Company of the Year. BottleUp’ s innovative approach of upcycling plastic bottles into decorative flowers and arrangements not only impressed regional judges but also earned them the Creativity Award at the UK-wide finals.
“ Continuing our commitment this year, we are currently supporting another two teams from Friends’ School Lisburn, Pebble Portraits(@ pebbleportraits _ ye), and SecondSip(@ secondsip _ ye).”
The company’ s involvement extends beyond mentoring. Recently, Lisa O’ Hanlon, Door Group’ s new Financial Director,
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participated in a Learn to Earn event at St Ciaran’ s Community School in Ballygawley.
In addition, Steven Cunningham, Door Group’ s Engineering Manager, is involved in the Business Beginnings programme with P7 students in Millington Primary School. Both programmes engage with students to help them understand the value of skills, career planning, and financial literacy.
www. assaabloy. com
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» CONSERVATORY OUTLET has again been recognised for its success in training and developing staff at the West Yorkshire Apprenticeship Awards.
Held in Bradford for 2025, the annual event shines a light on those businesses and people who demonstrate excellence in vocational education. The company was singled out for the success of its apprenticeship programme, which has recently expanded to include degree-level qualifications and is also creating a manufacturing-specific course.
As well as being singled out for praise for its industry-leading apprenticeship programme and constant elevation of staff through training, it was a night of success for three staff members who were recognised as amongst the best and
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highest-achieving learners in the region.
Those were Beth Cain( Advanced Apprentice, Level 3), Sarah Fox( Higher Apprentice, Level 4-5) and Joe Davis( Engineering & Manufacturing Apprentice).
Sarah, one of Conservatory Outlet’ s key Account Managers, said:“ Conservatory Outlet has been incredibly supportive. The time was right for me to progress, and I’ ve been able to do that personally and professionally by studying for and obtaining a Higher National Diploma. It’ s an honour to be named as one of the apprentices of the year.”
These fantastic achievements underscore Conservatory Outlet’ s continued investment into career development. This initiative is designed to nurture
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the next generation of talent, offering structured development plans, professional mentoring, and opportunities for long-term career progression within the business.
Joe Davis, one of the company’ s lead Maintenance Engineers, says,“ Conservatory Outlet has backed me, even when I wasn’ t sure about myself. I never thought I’ d achieve what I have. I’ m blown away by the support I’ ve received and the progress I’ ve made over the years.”
The programme has received praise from local education providers and industry
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partners for its comprehensive approach and consistent results. As the company grows, its commitment to developing skills and creating career opportunities through apprenticeships remains at the heart of its long-term strategy.
Conservatory Outlet’ s Managing Director, Mick Giscombe commented:“ We have an established apprenticeship scheme that we’ ve expanded recently to include degree-level qualifications. This means that we can provide tailored apprenticeships to everyone, from those leaving school or entering the industry for the first time to those who want to obtain degrees in fields such as Marketing, Engineering or Finance.”
www. conservatoryoutlet. co. uk
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10 JUNE 2025 |
CLEARVIEW-UK. COM |