NICVA member scoops Age Positive award

NICVA member, the Belfast Activity Centre , is one of the first employers in Northern Ireland to receive Age Positive Employer Champion status.

Jill Crowthers from the Centre collected the award from Bryan Johnston, Chair of Age Positive Northern Ireland, at the campaign’s launch in Derry.

The award is a Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) initiative to celebrate companies who are committed to stamping out age discrimination in the workplace.

The Belfast Activity Centre joins just over 100 employers in England, Scotland and Wales who have also received the Age Positive accreditation.

Equality in the workplace

Stephen Dickson, Director of the Belfast Activity Centre, said, “We are honoured to be one of the first organisations to be recognised by the Age Positive campaign as Employer Champions.

“As a personal development organisation, Belfast Activity Centre strives to provide the best staff resources available to support the young people we work with. Whether it is a young peer educator, a professional adventure sports instructor or an experienced retired person, Belfast Activity Centre recruits the best person for the job.

“Both the elderly and the young have special skills and experience which can, in the right working atmosphere, be harnessed to more effectively deliver our work with young people".

2006 legislation

One of the aims of the Award is to create awareness of upcoming age discrimination legislation which is due in 2006.

According to MORI research, one in four workers in the UK experience ageism, making it the most common form of workplace discrimination.

For more information on the Age Positive campaign, visit www.agepositive.org .