Two Offaly second level students help at national launch

Two Offaly students took part in the national launch of the Further Education and Training (FET) Skills Box this week at the National Construction Training Campus in Mount Lucas.

Conor Heffernan and Ellen Gleeson, 5th year students at Coláiste Naomh Cormac, Kilcormac, were on hand for the launch of the FET Skills Box, which is an initiative of Education and Training Boards Ireland.

It will will be distributed to every Community College and secondary school in Offaly, and across the country, and contains FET ‘career charts’ outlining the career options and education routes for multiple sectors, including: construction, tourism and hospitality, healthcare, business, and climate and green skills.

The official launch was attended by representatives from across the education sector, including: Joe Collins, Director of FET at ETBI; Tadhg Crowley, President of the Irish Association of Guidance Counsellors; and Assistant Manager, Green Skills Unit, SOLAS, Gráinne Timlin.

Commenting on the launch at the National Construction Training Campus in Mount Lucas, on Thursday, Joe Collins, Director of FET at ETBI said: “Further education and training courses delivered by the Education and Training Boards across the country focus on equipping people with the relevant skills needed in today’s workforce. They are a flexible and accessible way to progress in your career or learning journey. The aim of this initiative is to ensure that people are aware of the wealth of options and diverse career choices available through further education and training – particularly areas with a current skills shortage, such as construction, healthcare and climate.”

Jo Cahalin, Manager of Future Building Skills, ETBI, said that the initiative will ensure that people in Offaly are fully aware of all the options available to them: “We have developed the FET Skills Boxes to give people the opportunity to explore all the skills training options and routes that are available in a particular sector – in just one resource. We want to help career guidance counsellors guide their students effectively on their options, as well as ensuring that people who are changing career or hoping to upskill are informed about the pathways open to them for learning a new skill through their local ETB.”

The FET Skills Boxes will be delivered to all secondary schools nationwide over the coming weeks. Each Box will have a unique QR code leading to digital versions of the charts and links to further information on course content and providers. The online resources will be updated on a regular basis.

Further information is available at: https://library.etbi.ie/skillsbox