Singularity's strategy praised

Bill McGinnis was speaking during a visit to the business's headquarters to study its approach to skills and training.

He was briefed by Padraig Canavan, Chief Executive, who founded Singularity, now a multi-million pound business with operations in London, New York, Singapore and Hyderabad, India, in 1994.

Bill McGinnis said: "Singularity is an inspirational and world class company which has developed into one of the few locally-owned technology-led businesses with a genuine and successful global reach.

"This company, which has gained prestigious awards for its enterprise especially in terms of exports, is an excellent example of how a Northern Ireland company can compete successfully and profitably in the world's main technology centres by developing the skills and motivation of its people everywhere.

"Skills and jobs are vital to our prosperity. A key factor in prosperity is productivity, the value of what people in work produce. If Northern Ireland is to create the wealth this community needs to fund essential public services such as hospitals and schools, we need to achieve a significant increase in prosperity, which requires substantial and ongoing investment in the skills of all our people.

"Ambitious and growth focused companies such as Singularity, which is competing successfully in international markets, shows the value the local economy gains from a strategic approach to skills and training.

"As a community and to ensure economic recovery, significant investment in skills must be accorded priority status," added Mr McGinnis, who is also Chairman of the Dungannon-based McAvoy Group, a specialist in the design and factory manufacture of modular buildings.

Mr Canavan said: "Good people enable us to make an impact in what is a technology driven and intensely competitive industry. To ensure success, therefore, we invest heavily in developing particularly the hard technical skills but also the softer market, management & communication skills of all our staff.

"Our structured approach to skills ensures that all our people are encouraged and assisted to acquire the skills and technical accreditations that enable us to stay ahead of competitors including many bigger enterprises. We are an ambitious company that's hungry for even greater success in international markets. Realising our ambitions depends on developing a highly qualified, well-motivated and nimble workforce."

Singularity, which employs over half of its 200+ people in Northern Ireland, is an industry leader in the development of Business Process Management products that increases the performance and agility of the operations of companies across a range of industries including financial services and communications. It works with clients, including blue-chip corporations, in 20 countries on four continents.