ST. JOHN'S - The Marine Institute is proud to announce it has received certification to the ISO 9001:1994 Standard for Quality Management, following an audit by KPMG Quality Registrar Inc. The Marine Institute is the first and only public educational institute in the province and only one of five in Canada to receive the ISO 9001 certification.

The institute's certification applies to the design, development, and provision of education and training, industrial and applied research, and industrial assistance for the fisheries and marine related industries provincially, nationally, and internationally.

"This achievement demonstrates the institute's ongoing commitment to provide quality education, training, applied research and industrial support to the marine and offshore industries," said Leslie O'Reilly, the Marine Institute's executive director. "Our philosophy has always been to provide our students and our industrial clients with the best educational and applied research programs we can deliver. This quality management system reconfirms our commitment to ensuring that the institute can respond to the demands of the offshore industry and improve the number of opportunities for our graduates to work nationally and internationally." The coveted International Organization for Standardization rating is a voluntary, globally recognized standard for organizations committed to providing quality products and services that are efficient, consistent and continuously improving.

The Marine Institute's quality facilitator, Eugene Lye, credits the institute's employees for their hard work in achieving the certification. "Each and every employee has contributed to the development and the successful implementation of this quality management system. It has truly been a grass-roots effort from the start and the employees should be congratulated for their efforts."

The Marine Institute began the registration process in 1998. As part of the process, KPMG performed an on-site assessment, an examination of documented procedures and associated administrative operations. To determine continued compliance with ISO 9001, KPMG will periodically conduct routine surveillance audits of the institute's operations over the next three years.

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NOTE TO EDITORS:

KPMG Quality Registrar Inc. will present the ISO 9001 certification to the Fisheries and Marine Institute on Friday, Dec. 14, 2001 at 3 p.m. at the Marine Institute. Media agencies are invited to attend this photo opportunity.