Jobseekers hoping to Springboard to success seek information on education initiative

More than 1,000 people passed through the doors of Cork’s City Hall yesterday seeking information and guidance on a new initiative managed by the Higher Education Authority.

Springboard is a Government scheme which offers up to 6,000 college places on 200 courses nationwide to those who are unemployed but are actively seeking jobs.

Representatives from a number of public and privately funded colleges were present to offer information on courses where there are identified skills shortages such as IT and communications, manufacturing, and international financial services.

However, it was the career guidance table which saw people from all backgrounds queuing in their droves to seek advice on taking the next step in their career ladders.

Patricia O’Meara travelled from Clonmel to City Hall “to see where the job opportunities were”.

“My background is in executive PA, preschool, and media communications,” she said. “ I’m hoping to stay local but the only jobs in my field are in Dublin and Cork.

“The career guidance I received today helped to crystalise things for me and I think I know where I’m going now. I know where I need to be but I just needed a push.”

Lora O’Riordan was another seeking career advice.

“I’m looking at returning to education after a few years and maybe going for a career change,” she said. “My background is in education and social science so I’m just here today to see what they have.”

Co-ordinator of the programme, Mary-Liz Trant, said graduates “have a history of employment and bring significant experience and transferable skills to their new employer”.

To be eligible for a place on a Springboard course, a person has to be unemployed and actively seeking work, including people who have previously been self-employed and those receiving social welfare payments.

According to Irene Sheridan, head of the extended campus office at Cork Institute of Technology, which collaborates with industry and employers, the courses offered through Springboard have job creation at their core. None of them are just dreamt up in the heads of professors in an ivory tower. “They are developed in conjun-ction with employers in the region.

“And for those who have no experience of higher education, or who have not been to college for many years, learning and assessment have changed enormously.

“Instead of teachers standing in front of a group and checking in an exam with students if it got through to them, it’s now about active learning, and students work more and more in groups.”

A key element of Springboard courses is that most involve a work placement, and a recent report showed that 40% of jobseekers who completed one of last year’s programmes found a job within six weeks, and one-in-four have gone on to do further study or training. Over a quarter of those who got work did so in the technology sector, a survey by the Higher Education Authority found.

lwww.springboardcourses.ie