CABINET Minister and Makerfield MP Ian McCartney will be at Hindley Green fibre glass manufacturer PPG Industries on Friday.

Mr McCartney will help celebrate the learning achievements of the company, its workers and members of the local community.

PPG opened its Learning Room six years ago and has gone from strength to strength, becoming a Learndirect Centre, helping staff and the local community brush up their skills and knowledge through online courses.

Mr McCartney, Minister Without Portfolio, will present PPG's Learner of the Year, Dave Williams, with his award.

And, on the firm's behalf, he will hand over a gift of computers to community learning group Working Wonders, which specialises in working with large employers to provide training in basic skills for hard-to-reach groups in disadvantaged communities.

Nine learners will receive certificates from the Minister include PPG staff members like Dave Williams, who has won the firm's Learner of the Year award for achieving several IT qualifications as well as undertaking a number of Learndirect courses.

They also include people like 72-year-old gran Lily Shinks, who is Working Wonders' Learner of the Year. She left school with no formal qualifications but through Working Wonders has found the help and self-confidence to achieve.

Mr McCartney has taken a close interest in the development of the Learning Room after being involved in its opening in 1998, through its becoming a Learndirect Centre and on to the past year when it has thrown its doors open to help adults use its facilities.

PPG Industries (UK) Ltd is a subsidiary of PPG Industries Inc., based in Pittsburgh, USA, a global producer of coatings, glass, chemicals, and glass fibres which employs more than 30,000 people worldwide.