The Department of Education and Skills has revealed that 6,000 new higher education places are being made available to provide re-training opportunities for jobseekers as part of a €23m third Springboard allocation.
Over 200 Springboard courses will be provided at 38 Institutes of Technology and privately-run colleges to equip jobseekers with the kind of skills needed currently in the economy.
These include ICT, international languages and skills needed for financial services.
The courses will be full-time or part-time and qualifications will be at certificate, degree and postgraduate level.
The third Springboard allocation represents an investment of €23m by the Department of Education.
Pipeline of job-ready graduates
“Springboard is providing a dynamic pipeline of job-ready graduates, with up-to-the-minute skills and valuable qualifications for sectors of the Irish economy that are expanding and recruiting,” Education Minister Ruairi Quinn TD explained.
“This practical initiative, which is part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, is tailored to labour-market needs and designed to stimulate economic growth.”
Over 2,000 job-seekers have successfully returned to work in the past year on completion of a Springboard course. A further 3,000 will complete courses this month and are preparing to return to the jobs market with qualifications tailored to high-growth industries.
The news of the 6,000 new places was welcomed by the chief executive of IDA Ireland Barry O’Leary.
“Information technology and international financial services are two areas where the IDA is having great successes in recruiting new firms and this is creating new job opportunities– this initiative will provide additional skilled staff to meet the needs of these firms.”
“Each project that the IDA secures has a set of unique and specific skills requirements – Springboard is a tailored additional initiative to meet the growing specific staffing requirements of the multinationals looking to invest in Ireland.”
“Targeted skills development programmes such as Springboard are very effective in building the skills base available to FDI clients in Ireland and greatly assist IDA Ireland in the pursuit of investment abroad,” O’Leary said.
Applications for Springboard programmes are managed through a central online information and applications system at: www.springboardcourses.ie
