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Pictured Mary Stritch Lifelong Learning Officer MTU and Dr Brendan O’Donnell, Vice President MTU at the Munster Technological University Kerry Campus is Awarded €830,000 to Provide over 330 Places Across a Range of Courses Developed to Address Industry Skills Needs . Photo By : Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD.
Munster Technological University – Kerry Campus has secured €830,000 in funding to provide over 330 places under the Government’s Springboard+ initiative for the academic year 2023/2024.
In total, MTU Kerry Campus is offering 11 Springboard+ courses as part of its suite of part-time offerings.
These funded places are spread across a broad range of disciplines including Culinary Skills, Pharmacy Management and Circular Economy, as well as Sustainable Agriculture, Industrial Instrumentation and Automation, Industry 4.0 and Building Information Modelling (BIM) with Revit, Leadership and Transformational Change and Manufacturing Sterilisation and Validation Science.
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MTU worked closely with the South West Regional Skills Forum in developing and prioritising its Springboard+ offerings in line with the needs of industry and business in the region.
Dr Brendan O’Donnell, Vice President for Academic Affairs at MTU, said: “The Springboard+ initiative is the cornerstone of the lifelong learning offering at MTU. These courses are unique in that they offer both an opportunity to re-skill and/or up-skill, leading to qualifications that are in demand by employers. We work very closely with industry to understand their skills needs and how sectors are future-proofing the skills of people already in employment, particularly in roles that may be impacted by digitalisation. Our Springboard + offerings are direct responses to these collaborative partnerships. Our range of applied and blended programmes offer students flexibility around how they engage with the programme, which is invaluable when balancing study with a busy work schedule”.
Anne Looney, External Services Manager at MTU added; “Springboard+ responds quickly to emerging technologies and skills in industries and continues to provide valuable opportunities for people to either develop their career or to relaunch it entirely. With flexibility being a key component of the Springboard+ initiative, most courses are one-year, part-time and many are offered either in a blended format or delivered entirely online.”
Springboard+ courses are free for people who are unemployed, those who were previously self-employed and returners to the workforce. Courses at NFQ Level 6 are also free for those in employment. For employed participants on courses NFQ level 7 – 9, 90% of the course fee is government-funded, with participants required to contribute just the balancing 10%. Springboard+ is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.
Staff will be available over the coming weeks to advise potential students looking at a return to education. Further information on course availability, eligibility criteria and the application process is available by visiting www.springboardcourses.ie.
