A Lisnaskea farmer has been rewarded for his commitment to returning to education.

Ben Henderson was one of 16 people who last week received an 'Essential Skills Learner' award

from Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey. Mr Henderson gained Literacy Levels One and Two, as well as Numeracy Level Two.

He said his newly-acquired skills had helped him to run his farming business, particularly when completing his VAT returns and keeping his records, and to support his children in their education.

Sir Reg, presenting the awards, stressed the importance of essential skills learning to the growth of the local economy, and paid tribute to the achievements of the winners.

"Since the Essential Skills Strategy began in 2002", he explained, " over 37,000 qualifications have been achieved across Northern Ireland. Evidence shows that when people have these skills it can improve outcomes in many areas of their lives, many of which are intangible, including greater self esteem and a growing sense of aspiration.

"However, there are also measurable outcomes in terms of sustained employment, career progression and increased income.

These outcomes are in turn the cornerstone of our economic success."

Mr Hederson's tutor at South West College, Enniskillen, Anne Leonard, who accompanied Mr Henderson to the Awards event, summed up his achievement:

"It really was fantastic to see Ben's achievements recognised at such a prestigious national event.

He really is a very worthy winner because he put so much work in and made such progress".

She said she now hoped that Ben's success would inspire other adults to come back to College and improve their literacy and numeracy skills through Essential Skills qualifications.

All Essential Skills courses are free at South West College, Enniskillen campus. They are run throughout the year on a flexible part-time basis, and anybody looking to find out more information should contact Anne Leonard at the South West College, Enniskillen campus on 028 6634239.

The Essential Skills Awards were launched in November 2007 to recognise and celebrate outstanding achievements in literacy and numeracy learning. There are six regional award winners, an overall Learner of the Year and 10 Highly Commended entries.