Diane in running for prestigious accolade

Diane Huston of Ballymena based Supporting Communities has been nominated in the Third Sector Learner of the Year category in the 2021 awards of OCN - an educational charity and awarding body that advances education by developing qualifications for adults and young people throughout NI.

For 40 years, Supporting Communities has been advising, supporting, enabling and ultimately empowering Communities across Northern Ireland. The awards shortlist includes nominees from all over NI and covers categories such as Third Sector Learner of the Year, FE Learner of the Year, Schools Learner of the Year and Inspiring Tutor/Teacher of the Year. A new category for 2021, Advancing Learning Through Innovation, was added to recognise how organisations have transformed the delivery of qualifications throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Entries to the 2021 awards have been record-breaking, so to make it on to the shortlist is quite an achievement. CEO of OCN, Martin Flynn said: “This year is officially our biggest ever awards with almost 200 entries. We are genuinely thrilled at the fantastic response and the calibre of entries is extremely high so well done to everyone who has made it onto the shortlist.”

Colm McDaid, Chief Executive, Supporting Communities, said: “We are extremely proud to be shortlisted in this year’s OCN Learning Endeavour Awards and everyone at Supporting Communities is wishing Diane Huston the very best of luck. The team at Supporting Communities is always seeking to develop innovative ideas to empower communities, we are dedicated, and prepared to go the extra mile for customers. Supporting Communities has evolved from a single person community development project in Ballymena to one of now almost 30 staff working province-wide.”