Antrim joinery firm wins big at the 5% Club UK national employer ‘Earn & Learn’ awards in London

Antrim firm, Mivan has won two awards at the 5% Club UK national employer ‘Earn & Learn’ awards.

At a celebration reception held at Mansion House, London, the 5% Club recognised its outstanding members by identifying 12 top performing companies across six award categories.

The event was attended by over 400 people and marked the end of The 5% Club 10th anniversary year, and saw the award winners drawn from insights and findings in The Club’s Employer Audit research conducted earlier in the year.

Over 180 employers who participated in this year’s Employer Audit Scheme to gain accredited platinum, gold, silver or bronze membership of The Club were shortlisted for the awards.

The Northern Ireland luxury fit out and bespoke joinery specialists won the Employer of the Year Award sponsored by City & Guilds and the Breadth and

Balance Award sponsored by the Open University - this followed the achievement of gold membership earlier this year.

John Cunningham, CEO, Mivan, said: “These two awards are a great endorsement of what Mivan has achieved over the last couple of years. The number of ‘Earn & Learn’ positions we offered in 2021 was 12. The 2024 / 25 recruitment has already started, and we are looking to add another 27 individuals. I am very proud we have more than doubled the number of the opportunities Mivan offer to young people. As the audit showed more than a quarter of Mivan employees are currently engaged in earning and learning. The future is very bright.”

The recent Employer Audit identified that Mivan has a total of 53 employees in an ‘earn and learn’ position, from its workforce of 211 employees. This

means that 25.1% of employees are in ‘earn and learn’ roles. The audit, and now award, also highlighted the breadth and balance of the career development schemes such as The Navigate Programme and the Apprenticeship Programme.

Karen Anderson, HR manager, Mivan added: “Each year the need for new entrants into construction grows greater and greater. I believe Mivan has the best approach. We provide structured career pathways for apprentices, higher level apprenticeships, student placements and graduates. I am sure this recognition will boost the number of applicants of The Navigate Programme.”

Mark Cameron, CEO of The 5% Club, added: “Congratulations to all our award winners - they all demonstrated outstanding performance in their category awards. We are keen that these awards winners join us at future events in 2024 to talk about the secret of their success and share best practice in their emerging talent strategies.”

Mivan has over 45 years’ experience creating luxury interior experiences for our clients. Working collaboratively with architects, designers, contractors, and suppliers to deliver excellence. The company successfully operates in a broad range of sectors including luxury hotels, prime residential, museums, stadiums, arenas, commercial offices, modular solutions and marine.