ONE of the keys to Project Management's success was the quality of its people, said chief executive Mr Pat McGrath. He said the company had always sought to employ the best people and invested significantly in training and development.

It has a graduate training programme, accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

"I know its a cliche today to say your employees are your best asset but everything we deliver is through high-skilled people. We have a big emphasis on training and continued professional development," he said.

The number of senior managers with a shareholding in the company has risen from seven to 45 and an approved profit sharing scheme is currently being formulated to allow all employees to become shareholders in the company, said Mr McGrath.

"Our whole strategy is not to go public. We decided to stay private and be an employee-owned company as opposed to being owned by forces outside the company that might dictate a course of action or direction that might not suit the company," he said.

One of the company's biggest successes has been its ability to pass on its corporate culture to new employees.

"The biggest single challenge is internal communications. It is an area you must get right and an area in which all of us can work harder," he said.

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, paid tribute to Project Management's investment in its staff and its emphasis on training.

"It is an area far too often ignored by Irish companies who have traditionally been slow to invest in worker training," he said. "I believe that in this competitive international economy, we all have a special role, and employers particularly so, to ensure that we enhance the knowledge and the skills of our people so that we can sustain growth and prosperity for the community as a whole."