Simon Harris, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has announced OEM Apprenticeship employers, Dennison Trailers and Dairymaster as winners in the 2022 Generation Apprenticeship Employers of the Year.
Both employers won in the ‘Outstanding Employer of Diversity in the workplace’ in the SME and Large Company categories respectively. The event took place at the Morrison Hotel in Dublin on Thursday 8th December, with 83 companies being nominated in total.
Speaking on the day, Minister Harris said the event was “A celebration & recognition of all the employers across so many sectors of our economy who provide opportunities for apprentices. The key partnership between education & industry is vital as we further develop apprenticeships” adding “We need to highlight good practice and leadership being shown by business in apprenticeships”.
Dennison Trailers, who took home the award in the SME category, are a family-owned business with 175 Irish based employees, have produced over 65,000 high quality trailers and have become one of the major players in commercial trailer manufacturing. Their customers include many of the leading haulage companies and transport operators in both Ireland and the UK. They offer a broad range of market leading, innovative, and superbly engineered products, which are second to none. Speaking at the awards ceremony, Aidan Kinsella (Chief Executive, Dennison Trailers) said;
“Dennison are delighted to receive this award and are delighted to be recognised for our inclusion and diversity efforts. We have 16 nationalities at our Naas facility and the Group have 21 nationalities in total. Apprentices come from culturally and academically diverse backgrounds and Dennison’s core philosophy is on how to help develop the individual.”
Dr Mary-Liz Trant (Director, National Apprenticeship Office)
Dairymaster, winning the Large Company category, employ almost 400 people at their 11-acre manufacturing facility at Causeway in the Southwest of Ireland, have become internationally recognised as a leader in dairy equipment manufacturing, with headquarters in Ireland, the UK and USA serving customers in over 40 countries. Dairymaster has attained international acclaim for manufacturing superior, hi-tech dairy equipment. Their product range incorporates Milking Equipment, Feeding Equipment, Automatic Manure Scrapers, Milk Cooling Tanks and Health & Fertility Monitoring Systems.
John Harty, Chief Executive Officer, Dairymaster said;
“We are absolutely thrilled to have won this award. There are approximately 9,000 companies in Ireland who are registered as an employer of apprentices, so to come out on top among big players is a huge achievement for us”
“We’ve placed a strong emphasis on the range of apprenticeships being offered and to get recognised for the work is brilliant. I would like to thank the apprentices for their commitment, the mentors for their coaching, guidance, and experience and to the training organisations for the support in making these courses possible.”
AnnaMarie Woods, Programme Manager for the OEM Apprenticeship programme, on behalf of the Consortium Steering Committee (CSG) in collaboration with the Cavan Monaghan Education and Training Board (CMETB), Limerick Clare Education and Training Board (LMETB) and national stakeholders congratulated both companies, saying;
“We are delighted that two of our leading employers in the development of the OEM Apprenticeship Programme scooped these awards. Both employers are OEM Consortia members and continue to support the OEM team in the ongoing delivery of the programme and in the promotion of the OEM apprenticeship to employers and apprentices nationally”
With more than 65 apprenticeship programmes on offer, Irish employers are increasingly using apprenticeship to recruit and develop their talent pipeline. The OEM Apprenticeship is industry led from the initial concept and design stage, delivering modules such as Automation, Robotics, Mechatronics and Engineering Drawings that are crucial for the ever-changing demands in these high-tech Manufacturing, Installation and Service Sectors across Ireland. It is critical for the growth of Engineering Companies, to increase the availability of skilled employees nationally and particularly in the rural communities.
For more information on the OEM Apprenticeship programme, please visit: https://oemapprenticeship.ie/