Up to 15 recent graduates are to be directed to full-time jobs in the IT industry as part of a new ICT Ireland Skillnet in association with Citrix. The course follows on a previous 15-week course that saw nine graduates secure full-time employement.
The aim of the programme is to provide recent graduates with the necessary knowledge and experience to thrive in the workplace, via an intensive certified training course focused on emerging technologies, such as virtualisation and cloud computing.
Attending this course will allow for fast-track entry into jobs, such as those for technical support engineers – usually within the Citrix partner ecosystem. Up to 50pc of participants will be offered a job at Citrix, but Citrix will endeavour to secure all successful participants with employment within its broader base of partners.
The course is free to participants, who may also retain their full social welfare benefits, provided they meet Department of Social Protection eligibility criteria. This year’s intake will start training on 2 September, with up to half of participants joining Citrix in full-time positions at the end of the course. Applications for 2014’s intake will open early next year.
Participating graduates have the opportunity to qualify for Microsoft, Citrix and other internationally recognised certifications, as well as gain practical work experience via a three-week work placement at Citrix European technical support headquarters in Dublin.
“The ICT industry is crucial to Ireland’s economy,” said Francisco Alves, senior manager, technical support, Citrix.
“It is vital that we capitalise on Ireland’s status as the cloud capital of Europe by investing in our future IT industry stars. By partnering with ICT Ireland Skillnet, we are offering IT graduates a highly targeted programme that will give them the skills they need to thrive in the workplace.
“We piloted the scheme in 2012, to overwhelming response. This year’s course continues the momentum with a larger intake of graduates – and we hope to continue investing in Ireland’s future workforce for many years to come,” Alves continued.
Cloud working image via Shutterstock
