East Belfast Alliance representatives have welcomed news of a major new contract won by Harland and Wolff.
The East Belfast company will work on an oil rig which is due to arrive in Belfast later this week, creating employment for approximately 1,000 contractors for between two and three months. The contract is believed to be worth millions.
The news comes following the establishment of a pilot welding academy by Alliance Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry, which has taken 30 local unemployed people to train in specialised welding fields.
East Belfast MP Naomi Long said the new contract was great news for Harland and Wolff and the wider local economy. “It is evidence that Harland and Wolff and East Belfast are growing as an attractive place to invest and do business. Once the trainees come through the welding academy, they will now be more likely to get work thanks to contracts such as this. I congratulate Harland and Wolff on yet another significant contract.”
Alliance East Belfast MLA Chris Lyttle said: “I welcome this contract and have worked with Alliance Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry to secure funding for an Advanced Welding Academy in partnership with Belfast Metropolitan College and Harland and Wolff to ensure the skills needed to sustain these contracts are available to our economy.”
ENDS