Belfast Metropolitan College is running free tech courses which are fully funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE).
This is in line with the free Skills Focus programme announced by Economy Minister Diane Dodds earlier this month, to be delivered by Northern Ireland's various regional colleges.
The 25% cost to businesses has been removed until 31 March 2021, to support companies throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Courses will commence in June 2020 and include specialising in Microsoft Office and cybersecurity.
Sara Lyons, business development executive at Belfast Met said: “This is an excellent opportunity for upskilling of staff in private sector companies in NI with less than 250 employees. Furloughed employees can also benefit from the training all of which is accredited.”
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The further education college is also carrying out free ‘Webinar Wednesdays’ which are based around how businesses can use emerging technology and innovate during the current lockdown.
The first event took place last week and the second one on Data Analytics takes place tomorrow. You can register to participate here.
Another skills initiative the NI government is running is a free postgraduate certificate in software development, to be delivered virtually by Queen’s University Belfast.
Minister Dodds said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for people with degrees in a non-computing subject, or appropriate work experience, and whose careers have been affected by the pandemic, to study in a growth area and potentially secure employment in the future.”
The course is part-time running from late May to December 2020. There is also the option of accelerated learning to finish in September and progress directly into Year 2 of study on the full MSc in Software Development, complete the Master's in September 2021 and enter graduate-level roles such as a software engineer or analyst.
The PgCert is open to those who have been furloughed, lost their job, are economically inactive or are self-employed and lost their income because of the pandemic.
Applicants must either hold a 2:2 degree in any non-computing subject or have appropriate work experience.
All applicants must have access to a computer and internet connection and will be required to complete a short online aptitude test.
Find out more about the PgCert here or about the Skills Focus programme here. For more information and to enrol for the fully funded courses contact David Phelan Dphelan@belfastmet.ac.uk.
