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Southern Regional College has strengthened its position as a people-centred, high-performing organisation after being awarded the We Invest in Wellbeing Standard Award for the first time and successfully retaining the We Invest in People Silver Award.
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The College first achieved Investors in People recognition in 2012 and has sustained its accreditation across every review cycle since. For more than a decade the College has built on this success and used the Investors in People framework to guide continuous improvement in how staff are led, supported and developed.
The Wellbeing Award, introduced by IIP in 2020, has now been secured by the College. This success reflects the strength of SRC's wellbeing culture and underlines the importance placed on staff health, engagement and work-life balance.
The IIP framework requires organisations to develop strategies, take action and evaluate progress over a three-year period. Major initiatives undertaken since the last review include an upgrading of the staff health and wellbeing offering, which now includes free health checks and an electric vehicle scheme.
During the 2025 review period, IIP issued surveys to staff with feedback across several performance areas being positive. The 2025 assessment highlighted two standout performance areas: Delivering Continuous Improvement with 86.7% of respondents agreeing they actively sought improvement ideas and collaborative work, and Structuring Work, where 88.6% reported finding their work interesting, reflecting high levels of engagement, autonomy and effective job design.
This positive feedback has resulted in the College's total working time lost due to sickness being below the Northern Ireland average across the Further Education and Civil Service sector.
Mrs Lee Campbell, Principal and Chief Executive of Southern Regional College, said the awards are an endorsement of the culture being built at Southern Regional College, a culture where people feel valued, listened to and supported to do their best work. She said they reflect the dedication and professionalism of staff, who live the college's values every day, and they give fresh stimulus as the organisation moves forward. Mrs Campbell added that as a college they are determined to go even further in supporting staff wellbeing, developing their people and enhancing the experience of learners.
The college plans to continue its Investors in People journey by developing a new three-year action plan that builds on recent achievements while continuing to deliver an exceptional working environment for all staff.
