Donegal ETB’s Further Education and Training (FET) Service is set to launch their latest diverse range of courses for the new term, offering new training and career opportunities to learners of all backgrounds.
In the lead up to September 2018, Donegal Daily will hear from past learners who have successfully graduated from Donegal ETB’s FET courses.
This week, we talked to Pat McGarvey, a Gaoth Dobhair resident who completed a QQI Level 5 Business Administration course that led him to a brand new career path.
Now, Pat has a degree in History and works on local heritage projects in West Donegal.
“Training with the ETB opened up a different avenue for me. I love my work now,” Pat said.
Pat, who is originally from Glasgow, returned to study as a mature student after spending his life working in the construction and fishing industries.
The Business Administration course at the Gortahork Further Education and Training (FET) Centre gives learners the knowledge and computer skills they need for employment and in a range of business contexts and to progress to further and higher education and training.
“The course gave me more confidence in my own ability,” said Pat. With improved computer skills, he went on to study history at St. Angela’s College in Sligo.
Having pursued his passion, Pat enjoys working at Ionad Naomh Padraig in Gweedore. He has researched local historical projects to form an easily accessible archive for locals to see land records and census details from the region.
“The Business Administration course was the stepping stone that took me to college, there I honed the skills that let me do this job,” Pat said.
The programme gives learners a general grasp of many subjects and computer programmes, including Customer Service, Word Processing, Powerpoint and Spreadsheets
“I’d recommend the course as it touches on all the basic aspects of business and gives the opportunity to work on subjects where your skills are weak,” Pat said.
The tutors went above and beyond to ensure all students progressed, Pat said: “The tutor gave freely of her time after hours to help any learner who needed it, this made a difference to me personally.”
Pat also benefited from completing his course through the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) while studying. This meant that he continued to receive his jobseeker’s benefits during the course period.
Pat said he followed the principle of ‘If you’re not earning, you should be learning’ to boost his skills for better employment opportunities. Returning to education as a mature learner can be daunting, but he said that he is glad he took the leap.
Pat is now looking forward to taking on more projects as he marks a new era in his career.
Donegal ETB’s FET Service offers a wide range of full-time and part-time courses in the field of business and administration right across the county, many at Level 5. On a full-time basis these include Business Studies, Computer Skills for Employment Major Award in Business Administration, Digital Marketing with Business and Tourism, Digital Sales and Marketing (Career Traineeship) and the Accounting Technicians Ireland course. Part-time, a single module in Business Administration Skills is available.
Visit www.donegaletb.ie to find more information about Business programmes with Donegal ETB starting in September 2018 in Donegal Town, Gortahork, Letterkenny, Stranorlar and Gaoth Dobhair or email adultguidance@donegaletb.ie with course inquiries.
Many of Donegal ETB’s FET courses are co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Social Fund as part of the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020.
