MINISTER for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, presented Tralee Community Training Centre with a Special Award to mark its achievements today.

The achievements of Community Training Centres nationwide over the past 40 years were celebrated today at a special ruby anniversary event in the Printworks Room of Dublin Castle.

Representatives from Tralee Community Training Centre in Monavalley were on hand to receive a specially-commissioned plaque from the Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, who congratulated the centre on its achievements on behalf of young people.

John Wall, Chair of Tralee Community Training Centre, commented; “2017 is a very special year as we celebrate the achievements of our community training centre and learners over the years.

He continued, “For many young people, when they first came through our doors they had reached a point where life’s possibilities had seemed out of reach. Some had come to feel excluded from areas of life that give us all a sense of meaning and belonging, both in our communities and in the workplace. It has been our greatest honour to be able to support so many young people in developing their skills and nurturing their talents in order to reach their full potential. As a voluntary director, I, along with all our Community Training Centre Boards, am proud to be associated with supporting our learners on their life journey.”

Community Training Centres are a primary delivery model for the Education Training Boards’ strand of the Youthreach programme.

Since 1977, they have been providing a wide range of quality-assured educational, employment training and life skills development programmes in local communities to support early school leavers under 25 years in the transition to further education and the workplace.