A new term of Springboard+ programmes begins this September at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology.
Ahead of the application deadline next week, Donegal Daily heard from past students who benefited from the courses, which are specifically aimed at upskilling to meet skills needs in the labour market. Here, Íde Clark shares her experience of an ICT Masters with LYIT:
Íde Clarke has a spring in her step as she credits the support systems she received at Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) with her success in her new job as a developer.
Íde completed the Mainframe Technologies course from LYIT and, ahead of the new term, the County Wexford woman, says a big gap on her CV would have been an issue for prospective employers had she not come upon the course at LYIT.
From the course at LYIT, Íde became proficient in COBOL and DB2 and found comfort being back in a mainframe environment again. She is now working in Greystones with Elavon as an application developer.
Íde is working in the financial industry as and an application developer and is combining all of the skills she learned from LYIT in her everyday schedule.
“There was no way I would have got back into this sort of employment if it wasn’t for the course at LYIT,” Íde said.
“The job that came up was exactly in the field that the course was on – it’s brilliant.
“I had tried applying for roles, but I had a huge gap on my CV.
“The course gave me enough to put me back provided me with a strong basis which allowed be back into in the industry. That made the difference for me. No employer was going to look at me otherwise.”
Springboard+ is designed to provide free higher education places to jobseekers and, more recently, includes homemakers, those in employment and self-employed people who want to upskill to meet needs in the labour market.
Twelve Springboard programmes are awarded at LYIT at certificate are commencing at LYIT this September. They range in awards from certificate, , degree degree, higher and postgraduate diploma’s and post-graduate level in tschools of Business, Computing and Tourism in the Departments of Business, Computing, Law & Humanities and Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Arts. .
Places are free of charge to many Springboard participants.
In the case of those in employment, level 6 courses remain free and there is a cost of just 10% of normal fees for level 7-9 courses.
Íde is delighted to see the Springboard programme free to candidates and encourages people to take the opportunity.
Íde had a degree in IT dating back to 1984 and had worked in the industry until 2001.
She was out of the workforce for a time before returning to employment in another sector.
As part of the Mainframe Technologies course, she completed a four-week work placement and got a three-month contract out of that.
“The work experience was a major thing for me,” Íde said.
“It gave me exposure and it gave me the exposure in the environment where I could sell myself again.”
Íde praised the standard of the course and the assistance she received from her lecturers at LYIT.
She said: “I chose LYIT because of this course.
“I had a background already, but was out of the industry for around 17 years. Seeing this course at LYIT really raised my eyebrows and I jumped at it.
“It offered flexibility to carry on working and I was still able to do the course online with plenty of support.
“There was good online support, online facilities and all of that meant that you could easily do it from home. It was tough on a working day, but you can do it.
If you wish to follow in the same footsteps as Íde, a new Springboard funded Certificate in Mainframe Technologies begins 17th September 2018 1 October 2018.at LYIT. Applications are being accepted until the 1st of September 2018.
Click here to find out more about Springboard Offerings for 2018/2019.
For all your springboard queries e-mail springboard@lyit.ie or call 074-9186177. To check eligibility for a free Springboard course click here: https://www.lyit.ie/Study-at-LYIT/Find-a-course/Springboard-Courses www.lyit.ie/springboard
