De La Rue has invested Ksh30 million in a three-year programme aimed at boosting the management and Health and Safety skills of its staff at the Kenyan site.
Eight of its 300 staff at the site recently passed the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) exams due to funding from the programme, with three achieving Distinctions. NEBOSH is offered by a UK-based examination board, but vocational qualifications in health and safety practice and management are recognised world-wide, including here in Kenya.
The eight staff who got three distinctions and five passes brings the total number of NEBOSH qualified people at the site to 11. With this achievement, Kenya becomes only the second manufacturing site across De La Rue’s global footprint to fulfil the requirement on the number of people that must be NEBOSH qualified. It also underpins De La Rue Kenya’s commitment to Health and Safety at the site, which has a proud record of almost four years without a reportable accident.
The benefits of the skills of the Kenyan staff have also been recognised across De La Rue’s global footprint, with key members of staff travelling to other sites across the world to support their delivery challenges and share their expertise. This includes a team of print specialists spending three weeks in Malta, supporting the operation and sharing best practice within its Operational Excellence framework. Most recently, a key member of the Kenyan management team has been seconded to manage De La Rue’s plant in Sri Lanka, an opportunity to share skills and experience learnt in Kenya.
Robin Mackenzie, De La Rue’s Marketing Director commented: ‘This long term investment in skills has helped create an outstanding operation in Kenya, delivering to the highest global standards. After 25 years in operation, the site is set for a strong future.’
As a centre of excellence, the Kenyan site employs 300 local Kenyan staff and contributes Ksh1.25bn to the local economy every year. It has produced Currency, Identity Management and Product Authentication Solutions for Kenya for the last 25 years. The current infrastructure investment of KShs286 million is part of a long term investment of Ksh1.4bn to upgrade the site to become a regional hub for East Africa and the wider continent and a Global Centre of Excellence for De La Rue.
For more information about De La Rue Kenya, visit www.delarue.com/kenya
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For further information, please contact:
Sinead Keller - Head of Media and PR, De La Rue Plc | e. sinead.keller@delarue.com m. +44 (0)7584 155244
Erick Otieno | e. erick.otieno@corporatetalk.co.ke
About De La Rue
De La Rue’s purpose is to enable every citizen to participate securely in the global economy. As a trusted partner of governments, central banks and commercial organisations, De La Rue provides products and services that underpin the integrity of trade, personal identity and the movement of goods. As the world’s largest designer and commercial printer of banknotes, De La Rue designs, manufactures and delivers banknotes, banknote substrates and security features to customers in a world where currency will continue to be a key part of the developing payments eco-system.
De La Rue is the only fully integrated supplier of both paper and polymer banknotes, and creates security features that ensure banknotes are protected against counterfeiting. De La Rue is the world’s largest commercial printer of passports, delivering national and international identity tokens and software solutions for governments in a world that is increasingly focused on the importance of a legal and secure identity for every individual. De La Rue also creates and delivers secure product identifiers and ‘track and trace’ software for governments and commercial customers alike to help to tackle the challenge of illicit or counterfeit goods and the collection of revenue and excise duties.
De La Rue is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LON-DLAR). For further information visit www.delarue.com
