2025 NMD Recruitment & Skills Conference is a Huge Success

Over 150 delegates from across the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council attended the highly successful NMD Recruitment & Skills Conference on Wednesday 8 October hosted by the Broadcaster and Journalist, Mark Simpson in the Burrendale Hotel, Newcastle. 
This was the second of two free district-wide major conferences over a 12-month period following on from the first highly successful conference in the Canal Court Hotel, Newry last October.

Addressing recruitment and skills shortages is one of the biggest challenges facing the local business community across Newry, Mourne and Down and it was fantastic to see so many businesses, education and training providers and policymakers in attendance at this year’s conference, playing their part in helping to shape and develop a Labour Market Strategy for the district.
The conference was organised by Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade in partnership with Newry, Mourne and Down Labour Market Partnership (LMP). Funded by the Department for Communities, Labour Market Partnerships create targeted employment action plans for council areas, allowing for collaboration at local and regional level to support people towards and into work. The conference was also supported by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Southern Regional College, South Eastern Regional College, Queen’s University and Ulster University.

The continuing theme of the conference was, ‘Meeting the District’s Workforce Challenge’ and delegates heard a mix of presentations, panel discussions and participated in interactive roundtable discussions to provide a huge quantity of valuable feedback which will be collated along with the feedback from last year’s conference to develop bespoke solutions to the Workforce Challenge of the next decade and beyond as businesses across every sector of our local economy struggle to recruit and retain staff.

The panel discussions covered three key areas including, ‘Promoting Economic Inclusion and Championing Diversity in the Workplace’, ‘The Pathway to a Career and the NI Curriculum’ and ‘Attracting and Developing Talent’.

A range of presentations and addresses at the conference were delivered by:
• Ana Desmond, Senior Economist, Ulster University Economic Policy Centre
• Michelle Furphy, Director of Labour Market Policy and Delivery, Department for Communities
• Justin Kerr, Head of the Department for the Economy Careers Service
• Emma Mullen, Head of HR, People and Culture, Deli Lites Ireland
• Mark Palmer, Director of Executive Education (UK & Ireland), Queen’s University Belfast
• Dr Conor Patterson, Chair, Newry, Mourne and Down Labour Market Partnership (LMP)

Edwina Flynn, President of Newry Chamber commented, “The conference was all about continuing the much-needed conversation about how we can all collaborate to devise a locally focused strategy that meets the 21st century skills and recruitment needs of the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council businesses.”

“Newry Chamber is delighted to be involved in the organisation and delivery of this very important conference as one of the Chamber’s Core Strategic Pillars is Tackling the Workforce Challenges of the Greater Newry Area. The conference is about collaboration, about coming together to develop a strategy aimed at tackling the growing challenges in our labour market and the struggles businesses face in filling vacancies across this region.”

“Sincere thanks to our partners, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Newry Mourne and Down Labour Market Partnership, Southern Regional College, South Eastern Regional College, Queen’s University and Ulster University for all their support in making the Conference possible and to our speakers and panellists who contributed to an exceptional event.”

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Philip Campbell said, "This year’s Recruitment & Skills Conference once again demonstrated the power of collaboration between business, education and government in addressing the workforce challenges across our District. The discussions around inclusion, career pathways and upskilling have provided fresh insight and renewed momentum for how we can collectively strengthen our local economy.”

“By providing a platform for employers, educators and policymakers to share ideas and experiences, we are helping to shape practical solutions that will open up new opportunities for our residents, support our businesses to recruit and retain talent and ensure that Newry, Mourne and Down continues to grow as a place of innovation, learning and opportunity.”

“Through the ongoing work of the Newry, Mourne and Down Labour Market Partnership, funded by the Department for Communities, the Council remains committed to developing and delivering targeted initiatives that improve employability outcomes and create a more inclusive and resilient local labour market."