ACE Winches, the leading deck machinery specialist, has become the first organisation ever to achieve the Investors in Young People (IIYP) accreditation. It is the only people management standard that focuses on an employer’s recruitment and retention of young people, which launched this month in partnership with the Scottish Government.
The recognition comes as the company’s ACE Winch Academy, which provides training for all aspects of winch and specialist lifting operations, grows on a global scale and the recent Wood Commission report highlights that there are 53,000 young people not in education, employment or training in Scotland.
The exclusive accreditation makes ACE Winches eligible to use and display the Investors in Young People logo and plaque, and enjoy its benefits including recruitment, development, retention and wider business enhancements.
Alfie Cheyne, CEO commented: “ACE Winches is committed to engaging and developing young people through schools, work experience, apprenticeships, trainee and graduate schemes. We are delighted to be the first organisation to achieve Investors in Young People accreditation globally.
“It will allow us to gain feedback against our business priorities of sustained global growth, profitability and innovation and also aid in securing the long-term future of our workforce and their families.”
Peter Russian, Chief Executive of Investors in People Scotland, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for ACE Winches, and I and the whole IIYP team would like to wholeheartedly congratulate them. The Investors in Young People framework not only recognises and supports organisations in the employment of young people, but marks them out as an employer of choice.
“I envisage that many more organisations will wish to follow in the footsteps of ACE Winches and demonstrate their commitment to young people by working with the Investors in Young People framework.”
Since inception in 1992, ACE Winches’ global presence continues to expand and last month the company revealed that its international sales accredited for 75% of its annual turnover, which soared to £34.5million in the financial year end 2013.
Across its offices in Aberdeen and Norway, the firm employs more than 350 staff which includes 69 apprentices, 15 trainees and 12 graduates.
Alfie Cheyne continued: “Investing in young jobseekers has never been more important as the Wood Commission highlights less that one third (27%) of employees offer work experience.
“We look forward to working with IIYP to continue bringing in a fresh talent pool and diversity in our business. For ACE, this is an opportunity not only for those early in their career but for the organisation as a whole.”
