High Profile Recognition for NI's Engineering Excellence...

14th May 2009

The ability of the Northern Ireland engineering sector to attract and retain the highest calibre people was enhanced yesterday with the announcement that CDE Ireland have entered an exclusive group of companies accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) to deliver industry leading professional development opportunities.

CDE design and manufacture equipment for the quarrying, mining and waste management industries and are now able to offer their employees a route to achieving Chartered Engineer or Incorporated Engineer status. The company believes that this accreditation will assist in the continuing efforts to improve the range of products and services that they offer through an enhanced ability to attract the highest quality engineering talent available.

“The recent growth we have enjoyed as a company is directly attributable to the level of innovation and new product development we have been able to bring to the various industries we work in” explains Brian McCullough, Design Manager with CDE. “The continuing availability of high calibre graduates in an increasingly competitive market place is essential if this trend is to continue.”

The recently awarded IMechE accreditation granted to CDE is recognition that their internal systems for monitoring the professional development of their employees is among the best in the industry. The potential for CDE engineers to be working towards achieving Chartered Engineer status as part of their everyday working processes is, according to Brian McCullough, a big factor in attracting and retaining the highest calibre of engineering talent available.

“We know from our extensive involvement with a number of universities that being able to work towards Chartered Engineer status is a big consideration for many of the top engineering graduates” says Brian. “The top performers in any sector have a continuing desire to develop both personally and professionally and this accreditation from IMechE is evidence that these opportunities exist at CDE.”

The enhanced availability of the IMechE accredited scheme resulting from CDE’s accreditation will play an important role in reducing the ‘brain drain’ effect, where local graduates move away from Northern Ireland following graduation. “By giving our best graduates more reason to stay here and work in the local engineering sector we can ensure that we maintain our reputation as a country that delivers engineering excellence to the world” says Brian McCullough.

The company also hopes that this accreditation will assist them to attract talent from beyond these shores as they seek to expand their global market coverage. “The Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK is a globally recognised and respected institution” says Brian. “Being able to offer this route to Chartered Engineer status will help us to attract the talent necessary to develop our coverage in our many export markets.”

In addition to their global headquarters in Cookstown, County Tyrone, the company also have offices in England, Poland, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and India. A growing distributor network in other areas ensures coverage for their materials processing and recycling systems in Asia, Africa, North America, South America as well as many countries in Continental Europe.