Over eighty people gathered in the Óstán Loch Altan Hotel, Gortahork on Tuesday 28 November to receive a wide range of awards from Donegal ETB’s Further Education and Training Service.
The adult learners and young people achieved their certification through a range of programmes both on a full-time and a part-time basis over the last year.
Awards were presented by Donegal ETB member Geoffrey Browne. Chief Executive Anne McHugh and Director of Further Education and Training (FET) Services, Cróna Gallagher also spoke at the event.
Many of these learners completed their courses in the Adult Education and Training Centres in Gortahork and the ETB’s Training Centre in Gweedore.
These included part-time learners who received certification through the Learning for Living and Skills for Work programmes in Core Skills, Essential Skills, Employability Skills, ICT, Information Technology Skills and General Learning modules such as Communications, Maths, Internet Skills and Word Processing.
Part-time learners on the Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) received awards in Early Childhood Care and Education (Level 5) and Health Service Skills. A number of learners in the Gweedore Training Centre also received their EIS (Welding) certificates.
Learners, including former Donegal football captain Anthony Molloy, received their awards for Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG) from Donegal ETB and Údarás na Gaeltachta Learners from two full-time programmes also received a number of awards.
Adults on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) in Gortahork were presented with their Level 5 major awards in Business Administration and ECDL, while young people on the Gortahork Youthreach programme were presented with certificates in Level 2 and 4 General Learning and Level 3 Employability Skills and Customer Service Skills for training completed with Customer Services Excellence Ireland.
Speaking at the awards, Donegal ETB member Geoffrey Browne, said “It’s an honour to be here tonight to present awards to so many adults and young people. I would like to congratulate each and every one of them on their achievements.”
Cróna Gallagher, Director of FET, Donegal ETB, stated, “It’s fantastic to see so many learners receiving awards here tonight. They have put in so much work to get their certification and I’m delighted to be able to share in their achievements. The certification they have received here tonight will now open up many more progression options to them within further education and training or the world of work.”
In 2016, almost 12,000 learners completed courses in more than 120 venues across the county, making Donegal ETB the largest FET provider in the county. Its wide range of courses can be found on the course finder section of its website (www.donegaletb.ie/coursefinder).
Further updates on the awards event can be found on Donegal ETB’s website (www.donegaletb.ie/news) and Twitter and Facebook accounts (@DonegalETB).
