Celebrating Success at South West College
THE Dungannon Campus of South West College was the setting for a recent prize-giving ceremony in recognition of top achievers for the 2011/12 academic year.
Over 60 students studying at the Dungannon Campus on Full-Time Further Education, Training and Entitlement Framework Programmes attended the ceremony with their family, friends, sponsors and representatives from local schools and industry to receive awards for their academic and vocational excellence.
The College welcomed Orla Corr, Sales and Business Development Director of McAvoy Group, who last year was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List for services to the construction industry in Northern Ireland.
Orla Corr told the group of assembled students that they should never stop learning new skills and to prepare for growth even when times are tough. The hardworking mother-of-four spoke of the challenge women in particular have in traditionally male-dominated industries. She has overcome personal tragedy and stereotyping to build a family business which has become an international company with an annual turnover in excess of £40m in just 10 years. Speaking of the difficulties her company faced with the decline in business she said,
“adversity is a great motivator. We had to be innovative and we had to be aggressive… Simply battening down the hatches did not make sense, we had to move and we had to be proactive. We developed a new brand identity and we sold very hard.”
The strategy clearly worked, as the company won contracts throughout England, including event buildings for the London 2012 Olympics.
Mr Padraig McNamee, Dungannon Campus Manager commended all students for demonstrating high standards of achievement and encouraged students to continue to take advantage of the opportunities presented, whether the next step is employment or higher education at a university or at South West College. Mr McNamee added,
“The facilities and support at South West College; our partnerships and links with schools and industry locally, nationally and internationally and the progression routes available, give the students of the South West College wonderful opportunities to enhance their studies and their lives in general, all of which in turn benefits our community greatly.”
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Weather for Dungannon
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 8 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
