Almac flies the flag for European Day of Languages
September 23, 2011
Craigavon-based pharmaceutical development company Almac is celebrating the cultural and linguistic diversity of its employees today, European Day of Languages, (Monday September 26).
No fewer than 17 European languages including Finnish, Czech and Greek are spoken by staff in the company’s workforce of almost 2,000 in Northern Ireland and at the last count staff spoke a total of 31 world languages ranging from Japanese to Gujarati and Marathi. Many other languages are used by its employees on its sites in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California and Edinburgh.
On a visit to Almac’s Craigavon site to mark European Day of Languages, MEP Jim Nicholson, said: “As a global leader in the biopharmaceutical industry Almac is attracting top talent from across the world as well as employing many of Northern Ireland’s leading scientists and businesspeople.
“Employing such a diverse range of local and international staff including those from a wide range of EU countries is paying dividends for Almac as it grows year on year, supporting and encouraging research and innovation in the field of healthcare.
“Although it is a world renowned company Almac has always retained a strong focus on contributing positively to the economy of Craigavon and Northern Ireland as a whole, providing high quality jobs for so many.”
Almac’s Chief Executive Alan Armstrong said: “People come from all over the world to work at Almac’s Craigavon site in a wide range of jobs. Whilst the vast majority of our employees are still from the local community, we are thrilled to have people of 31 nationalities among our workforce in Northern Ireland.
“Having such a culturally and linguistically diverse workforce is a great strength for Almac’s global business.
“While we live in a world that is instantly connected at the touch of the keyboard the ability to respect and appreciate different cultures and languages is vital to business success.”
Today marks the 10th anniversary of European Day of Languages. The event has been growing every year since 2001 following a decision by the Council of Europe to declare the day to be celebrated on September 26.
The idea behind the event is to raise public awareness of all the languages spoken in Europe and the importance of language learning in spreading tolerance and mutual understanding. The European Day of Languages celebrates linguistic diversity as one of Europe’s strengths, and encourages lifelong language learning.
Notes to Editors
The Almac Group provides a broad range of pharmaceutical services from R&D, biomarker discovery and development, API manufacture, formulation development, clinical trial supply and IXRS® technology (IVRS/IWRS), to commercial-scale manufacture. Almac provides services to more than 600 companies, including all the world leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.
The company employs over 3,000 and is headquartered in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. Its North American Headquarters are in Souderton, Pennsylvania and the company also has sites at North Carolina and California.
For more information about Almac contact Jane Wells or Andrea Clements at JPR on 028 9076 0066. [email protected], 07860 288 860
[email protected], 07808
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