A FIRM is celebrating after being honoured by the Prime Minister in the first ever New Deal Awards.

Burnley-based construction firm Prime Finish Ltd is one of just four North West companies to be singled out for a special mention by Tony Blair.

Owner Derek Woolfenden has worked closely with the Job Centre to provide support to three permanent New Deal employees.

And he has started to fund further training for all his employees at NVQ level 3 once they have worked for him for six months.

New Deal is a scheme launched last year by the Government to help young unemployed people find jobs.

At Prime Finish each New Deal employee is provided with structured training and has a mentor at work to provide help and support through the training period.

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