Special praise for Michelin’s track record

Michelin has been praised for giving Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector a much-needed lift. The French company, which employs over 1,200 people at a plant in Ballymena, has a long-standing partnership with North-East Institute of Further and Higher Education. But it increased its involvement with the official opening of a new technical training centre at the Ballymena-based institute’s Farm Lodge campus.

The centre, which was given the seal of approval by Employment and Learning Minister Jane Kennedy, has been established to act as a focal point for manufacturing and maintenance engineering training and practices. Specific training in engineering maintenance is delivered within the Michelin Technical Training Centre by Michelin staff, complementing the work of institute lecturers..