‘Gold Standard’ as H. Murphy’s staff scoop prestigious Stonehouse Awards
THERE were celebrations at H. Murphy’s Cash & Carry in Enniscorthy recently as the staff showed off their recent haul of awards from Stonehouse. Murphy’s was presented with the prestigious Gold Standard Award for excellence in retail and they were also shocked and delighted to be given the National Homestead Sales & Support Award for 2018 at the special ceremony in the luxurious Carton House in Maynooth, Co Kildare.
Founded in 1929 in Enniscorthy by Herbie Murphy and Jimmy Griffin, H. Murphy and Co has grown exponentially since then and now has branches in New Ross and Arklow as well. In the beginning, it was a traditional tea blending and wholesale groceries business until the early 60’s, when H. Murphy & Co. was turned into one of the first Cash and Carrys in the South East.
Speaking at the ceremony, a representative from Stonehouse
Management and staff of H. Murphy, Cash & Carry, Enniscorthy pictured with their Stonehouse Gold Standard Award 2018 and Stonehouse Homestead Sales & Support Award 2018.
said that Murphy’s was being given the award for ‘a continuing track record of reliability and great service’. Owner David Murphy said it was a great reflection on his loyal staff, many of whom have clocked up over 25 years of service.
‘We were surprised to win it to be honest,’ he said. ‘It’s judged on your purchasing and sales over the year and we came out on top. We have great support from local shopkeepers and we were delighted to win.’ WEXFORD RECORDED a 34% increase in the number of Wexford based companies who undertook Skillnet Ireland training courses in 2017, according to the body’s recent annual report.
In total, 548 companies in the Wexford region availed of subsidised enterprise-led training through the Skillnet Networks. Of the almost 50,000 trainees taking part in courses, 1,414 were based in Wexford. The large majority of companies taking part in the training programmes were small to medium enterprises (SMEs).
Training was offered in a number of sectors including services (40%), agri-business (26%) and manufacturing (7%).
Skillnet Ireland Chief Executive, Paul Healy referred to the importance of upskilling across all sectors and urged Irish companies to engage with Skillnet Ireland before Brexit comes into effect.
‘ The world of work is changing rapidly and as a result, people’s skills are becoming dated more quickly. Employers are often distracted by a myriad of priorities and responsibilities and perhaps don’t always give staff training the emphasis it needs. Without investing in upskilling and talent strategies, Irish companies could lose their competitive advantage, especially with the challenges posed by Brexit.’
He added that economic studies had already shown that low skilled workers would be hit hardest by Brexit so they were encouraging employers to start considering ways to protect their business and staff with training that would help them to adapt to challengesin the future.