Over 350 guests attended the event at the InterContinental London - The O2 hosted by television presenter and former public relations consultant Nick Hewer of The Apprentice and Countdown fame. In all, 50 businesses were shortlisted out of 125 nominations and categories were sponsored by a number of local and national employers. London South East Colleges were proud to sponsor the award for Employer of the Year which Principal and CEO, Sam Parrett OBE presented to construction and civil engineering company MJ Rooney.
This award is judged on an organisation’s commitment to providing work experience and apprenticeship opportunities to young people in the borough and the provision of training and development opportunities to their own employees. MJ Rooney were chosen for their proven ability in promoting best practice in their industry and for striving to share innovation and knowledge to bring about improvements in the sector as a whole.
MJ Rooney are a family-run enterprise, this year celebrating 30 years in business. It is run by three brothers Dermot, Eoin and Cormac Rooney who are all directors of the company. All three happen to be former students of the College (before the merger of three existing colleges in south east London). Dermot attended classes at our Orpington Campus, Eoin was a student of art and design and Cormac studied for a construction diploma at Bexley (Erith) Campus.
Taking to the stage to collect the award, Commercial Director Dermot Rooney told the audience: “It is a fantastic surprise and a great honour to collect this award on behalf of the company. I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the very hard work and commitment demonstrated by our dynamic team. It is a very good start to the year for us and a huge boost for our workforce.”
Last year, MJ Rooney were winners of the Construction News Specialist Awards ‘Specialist Contractor of the Year’ and ‘Company Innovation of the Year’, Ground Engineering Awards ‘Ground Engineering Contractor of the Year, and the New Civil Engineer Awards ‘Technology Champion’.
The company runs a very impressive apprenticeship scheme with five apprentices currently enrolled. Due to their success and our sponsorship of the award, London South East Colleges and MJ Rooney will soon begin discussions regarding the possibility of an apprenticeship and work experience partnership in the near future.
Principal Sam Parrett said: “I’d like to congratulate the winner of this award and indeed, all of the winners of the other awards today. Greenwich has a thriving business community and it is very important that we celebrate the hard work and contributions made by employers of all sizes to a very challenging economy.”
Please click here to read more about The Best of Royal Greenwich Business Awards
Please click here for more information about the awards and the judging process
SN/PW