Significant funding has been announced for the North West Digital Employment Pathway Training Hub (NW DEPTH).
Led by Atlantic Technological University, the initiative was included in a total of €46,064,915 of PEACEPLUS funding announced recently. The fund is designed to improve equal access to inclusive and quality services in education, training and lifelong learning in Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.
This project – supported by the PEACEPLUS Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) – will be led by Atlantic Technological University (ATU). The ATU will work in partnership with Ulster University, North West Regional College, and Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB) via their well-established strategic collaboration, the North West Tertiary Education Cluster (NWTEC).
The Area Based Regional Skills Development Programme, through the PEACEPLUS Delivering Socio-Economic Regeneration and Transformation theme, will develop and upskill 10,000 people to engage on key growth sectors, which will boost economic growth and create a more balanced regional economy. The NW DEPTH proposal aims to deliver a digital skills framework targeting the North West City Region (County Donegal and the Derry City and Strabane District Council Area). The NW DEPTH project will develop and deliver a portfolio of upskilling and reskilling programmes to ensure 2,000+ people advance up the qualifications’ framework via digital and cybersecurity skills courses.
The NW DEPTH project will run for a four-year period and will see close to a €10 million investment in digital skills in the North West. A target of 2,000+ participants will have access to high-quality employment-focused digital and cybersecurity tertiary education programmes free of charge.
Dr Orla Flynn, President of ATU, stated that “securing PEACEPLUS funding for the NW DEPTH project will empower a significant number of individuals to thrive in an increasingly digital world of employment. It will not only enrich individual lives, but this funding will also strengthen regional industries by better facilitating innovation as well as providing support for economic growth. I want to congratulate those who worked on this bid and look forward to seeing successful outcomes being achieved in the years ahead.”
