IMPROVED leadership is required to rebalance to north's economy, an event in Belfast has heard.
A new Corporate Leadership Programme by First Trust Bank was launched at Queen's University in partnership with the William J Clinton Leadership Institute.
The scheme follows feedback from the bank's corporate customers who expressed concerns about the depth of their leadership
Outlining the rationale behind the programme Des Moore, head of First Trust Bank said: "We know that one way to rebalance the economy is to grow our larger SMEs and to further develop a stronger and more vibrant NI PLC, which can and increasingly does compete on the world stage.
"As we deal with more customers who are focused on growth, we have identified an important need for further investment in our future leaders. Many have highlighted this as an issue that could potentially hold back their growth plans and we wanted to help.
"Alongside this we noted compelling evidence which points to the positive impact of strong management and leadership skills on business performance. ”
Anne Clydesdale, chief executive the William J Clinton Leadership Institute, said the programme was "an excellent example of a leading bank reaching out to businesses locally to help promote excellent leaders, and in turn more robust organisations with a subsequent positive contribution to the NI PLC.”
The initiative is open for applications which should be received by December 4.
