Northern Ireland's six regional further education colleges have launched an Advanced Technical Award and Traineeships to help school leavers acquire new professional and technical skills in various vocational sectors.
The Level 2 Traineeship will equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed by employers and permits movement across to Apprenticeships and progression to Further Education.
The new Level 3 Advanced Technical Award at Level 3 has been designed to meet the needs of industry and includes a qualification equivalent to three A-levels, industry-related project work, skills development and a component of work-based learning.
The awards aim to address the growing skills gap in NI and are available in a range of disciplines such as IT, Health and Social Care, Applied Science, Construction, Engineering, Business and Finance.
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Chair of the College Principals’ Group, Ken Webb said: “We are excited to launch these two new awards at a time of enormous change in both our economy and wider society. Now more than ever, people are assessing their options and looking for careers that work for them and that offer long-term opportunities and the chance to progress. We know that currently, thousands of our young people are studying in Great Britain rather than studying locally.
"This brain drain impacts our economy significantly because many of those people do not return home, leaving a growing skills gap in Northern Ireland that employers are finding difficult to fill," he continued. "We want young people locally to understand that there are many more routes to promising careers in areas like accountancy, healthcare, engineering and IT.”
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Former student of North West Regional College, Katie Durey added: “Going to college was the best decision I ever made. When I was planning for my future after school, I was quite unsure as to what path I wanted to take and felt that university was not the right place for me at that stage.
"Doing my Extended Diploma Level 3 at North West opened my eyes to what was possible through my local college. I studied Health Sciences and now have an offer to study Paramedic Science at university. The skills I gained at North West, as well as the confidence it has given me in choosing the right career path are priceless.”
