Axing Traveller training places ‘targets most needy’

THE axing of a tenth of places at training centres for Travellers will make easy targets of people who most need education, it has been claimed.

Education Minister, Batt O’Keeffe, announced on budget day last month that the number of places in Senior Traveller Training Centres (STTCs) will be reduced by about 100 from the current figure of 1,084.

The 33 centres operated by city and county Vocational Education Committees provide Travellers aged 15 and older with skills to make the transition to work and adult life, and to participate fully in their communities.