Education Magazine 36-2

Education Since 1987 | Volume 36 Issue 2 | w: educationmagazine.ie | t: 01-8329246 | e: ardeducationltd@gmail.com

Creating pathways for Further Education and Training Learners

Interview with Maureen Kennelly, Arts Council Global warming facts | Revised HEAR scheme Towards Net Zero with Bord Gáis Energy Academy News| Green News | Research News | Reviews

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Education Volume 36 Issue 2 Editor Niall Gormley Production Michael Farrell Publishers Ard Education Ltd. Tel: 01-8329246 E: ardeducationltd@gmail.com www.educationmagazine.ie

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News: Free schoolbooks, capitation funding and fee cuts feature in big spending budge News: Some of the promised spending education items in Budget 2023; Concern over decrease in numbers sitting higher maths News: Research shows nine out of ten people in Ireland want to learn a new skill; Can the Northern education system be reformed?

News: University of Limerick president pays tribute to Irish American philanthropist Chuck Feeney; Trinity food historian debunks myth that preindustrial beer was weaker COVER: Louth and Meath ETB: Creating pathways for Further Education and Training learners News: DCU researchers reveal commuter clean air app; First-Ever Neurodiversity in Education conference invites educators to foster inclusive practices and support Imagining a better way to a Net Zero Future with Bord Gáis Energy Academy Solas: A World of Opportunities for Leaving Certificate students through Further Education, Training and Apprenticeships Voice, Acting, Movementat the Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin DkIT for students by students INTERVIEW: Arts Council Director Maureen Kennelly Do you want your students to know more about the European Union?

Transition Year and Outreach school programmes at Barretstown The Creativity for Wellbeing workbook by Mental Health Ireland Revised HEAR scheme aims to reach more disadvantaged groups FEATURE: So you want to be a pilot? Three part feature Who are FIT? The route to Tech Apprenticeships ESB Networks Electrical Apprenticeship Programme Jones Engineering - Graduate and Apprenticeship Programmes Globe 2022 FEATURE: Global warming facts for Europe and in the Globe MIT - secure platform to manage school admissions Logistics Associate Apprenticeship - a career in getting things moving Irish Defence Forces General Service New leadership appointments in Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board EMS Managed Print Solutions Kerry College announce new Screenwriting Surface temperature Programme with support of Ifta A New Year of Opportunities at Sallynoggin College of Further Education Training Services at Kilkenny and Carlow ETB Mayo, Sligo & Leitrim ETB - Triumph of Collaboration Research News: Four ATU research teams win SFI funding to help communities find solutions to societal challenges Green News: Students release ‘smart’ pebbles to track climate change impacts; 32 per cent of Ireland’s electricity provided by wind in September Green News: Big thinking, more ambition and real action needed to deliver Net Zero Commitments Engineers Ireland Reviews - recently published books

The global context is provided by the evolution of key Climate Indicators.

These typically build on multi-source or community estimates, in some cases leading to a delay in producing final data records, and so not all indicators are covered here.

Additional information about the global climate during 2022 can be found in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2022.

Globally, the last eight years were the warmest on record, although 2022 was one of the cooler of these. Despite this, 2022 was the warmest year on record for several regions of the globe, including much of western Europe, parts of northwestern Africa, the Horn of Africa, central Asia and China, and much of the south Pacific. The most-below-average temperatures over land were in southeastern Australia and central Canada.

INTRODUCTION

GLOBE IN 2022

Cover

Louth and Meath ETB creating pathways Page 11

Interview

Arts Council Director Maureen Kennelly Page 20

Feature

So you want to be a pilot? Three part feature Page 28

EUROPEAN STATE OF THE CLIMATE - SU

Feature Glaciers

Glaciers continued to lose mass at h and are estimated to currently contrib than 1 mm per year to mean global rise. A large reduction in glacier m observed across the globe, with only g southwestern Scandinavia showing gain in mass.

Globe

Europe

Sea ice Arctic

Global warming facts forGreenhouse Europe and Globe Sea surface gases temperature Page 36

Climate stripes from ERA5, 1950–2022 For more information www.showyourstripes.info

Atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane continued to increase, reaching record levels, and were their highest in at least hundreds of thousands of years. The year-on-year increase in methane was significantly higher than the average of the last ten years, but not as high as the record levels seen in 2020 and 2021.

Focus

EUROPE IN 2022

THE ARCTIC IN 2022

Global average sea surface temperature (SST) was the sixth warmest on record, and 2022 marked the third year with La Niña conditions present. This meant that it was cooler than some recent years. Since 1850, SSTs have increased by 0.9°C, but the rate of increase varies regionally. Among the fastest warming areas are parts of the Arctic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and parts of the extra-tropical Pacific.

TRENDS IN CLIMATE INDICATORS

BEYOND THE ESOTC

ABOUT THE REPORT

Revised HEAR scheme aims to reach wider Page 27 Education 3

Sea ice extent in the Arctic remaine below average throughout the year. sea ice extent reached its lowest extent on record in February, with an months seeing near-record low exten

Sea level

Data available for the first six mont year show a continuing rise in glob sea level, reaching a new record hig

ABOUT US

NEWS .....................................................................................................................................................................................................

Free schoolbooks, capitation funding and fee cuts feature in big spending budget THE government has announced the expansion of the Free Schoolbooks and Classroom Resources Scheme to all students accessing the Junior Cycle programme as part of spending promises in this year's budget. Minister Norma Foley said that the initiative would involve an initial investment of €67 million that will benefit some 212,000 students.

The overall package amounted to €10.5 billion to the Department of Education and €4.1 billion to the Department of Further and Higher Education.

The Dept of Education said it would progress 300 school building projects at construction and a further 200 projects to proceed to construction during 2024 / early 2025 with a capital budget of €940m.

At further education level fees for Post Leaving Cert courses were abolished and there was a once-off reduction of 33 per cent in the contribution fee for apprentices in higher education.

At higher education level the government

4 Education

announced a €1,000 reduction in the student contribution fee for students eligible for the free fees initiative. With the new €500 student contribution grant the student contribution fee will be halved to €1,500 for eligible families with a household income of between €62,000 and €100,000 Budget reactions The Irish University Association (IUA) welcomed a number of aspects of the budget for higher education including the measures to reduce the costs for students and the provisions to fund the cost of government-controlled pay awards.

However, the IUA said the €60m increase in core funding for universities fell well short of the government’s own promise. In addition, the failure to unlock the growing €1.5 billion surplus in the National Training Fund was a missed opportunity.

In its initial reaction to the budget, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland has said the Government is in no way serious about

tackling the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, an approach it says is ‘as baffling as it is worrying’.

The INTO welcomed the provision of €4m in 2024 for the restoration of posts of responsibility in schools from September 2024. General Secretary John Boyle said: "While we are disappointed that there has been no further class size reduction, we are pleased that government has addressed three of our four campaign priorities."

ASTI President Geraldine O’Brien said: "Budget 2024 does not address the big issues in education requiring urgent investment such as class size, teacher shortages and school guidance/counselling services."

The A STI President welcomed the announcement regarding free school books for Junior Cycle students. However, the ASTI was disappointed that the one-off additional funding for schools this year has been reduced from €90m in 2023 to €61m in 2024.

Schools struggled to survive on last year’s allocation, she said.

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Some of the promised spending education items in Budget 2023 • Some €67 million funding for free schoolbooks and classroom resources for Junior Cycle students.

• Over €20 million in additional capitation funding to assist schools now and longer term with increased day-today running costs. This will support a permanent restoration of funding for all primary and post-primary schools, bringing the basic rate of capitation to €200 per student in primary schools and to €345 in post-primary schools.

• €92 million in additional funding for the School Transport Scheme to provide additional places for children with special educational needs, increased bus contractor costs and a continued reduction in school transport fees.

• €82 million for an additional 1,216 Special Needs Assistants and 744 additional Special Educational Needs Teachers in classrooms providing for 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs.

• Provision of an additional €11 million for special schools

catering for children with special educational needs to remove the threshold for the appointment of an Administrative Deputy Principal and provide for a further 100 teaching posts.

• €20 million in funding for the Enhanced Summer Programme totalling €40 million for summer 2024.

• Additional allocation for curricular reforms, which includes funding for the accelerated roll out of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment programme and the delivery of additional physical activity initiatives in schools.

• Additional allocation for social inclusion measures, includ ing en ha ncing the c a p a c i t y o f t h e Tu s l a Education Support Services and additional educational welfare officer posts.

• Provision made for the pilot counselling services to continue for another year.

• Allocation of €940 million for 2024 for the addition of capacity in schools through building new schools and the rollout of additional accommodation in existing schools.

THE DISCOVER UCC TOUR. Join us for a campus tour for students interested in attending UCC. This tour is free of charge and suitable for all the family.

Tours run at 3pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays from underneath the Clock Tower at the Main Quadrangle. During this tour, you will visit a number of UCC buildings such as the Boole Library, the Hub etc.

For more information, please visit: www.ucc.ie/en/visitorservices/ tours/public or scan the QR code below

Concern over decrease in numbers sitting higher maths

ENGINEERS Ireland has expressed concern at the continuing decline in the number of students undertaking higher level mathematics at Leaving Certificate.

Statistics show that 20,516 Leaving students were awarded grades for the higher level maths paper, representing a 4% decrease when compared to 2022.

Although participation in the subject at higher level has increased over the past five years – up 13% when compared to 2019 – participation in the subject has fallen for the second year in a row.

The representative body for engineers, whose membership

represents the full spectrum of the engineering profession, also raised concern at the number of students undertaking higher level subjects in other key STEM subject areas, including applied maths (-16%), physics (-5%) and chemistry (-5%).

Damien Owens of Engineers Ireland, said: “Maths and science knowledge are valuable aptitudes for future engineers.

"A proficiency and understanding of STEM by Ireland’s future leaders is also vital to ensure that our country can continue to develop the infrastructure that it needs, while a l s o h a v i n g t h e a b i l i t y to address global challenges such as climate change."

The Story Begins Here.

Education 5

Graphic Solutions

New Junior Cycle Graphics Graphic Solutions incorporates several resources to provide a unique and interactive learning experience for students and teachers of Junior Cycle Graphics.

Key Features: • The workbook contains hundreds of partial questions and sample exam question • The e-book contains interactive step-by-step solutions to all the questions within the workbook • Includes a range of Extra Resources for Teachers and Students.

Extra Resources Include: ✔ Active Learning Classroom activities ✔ Interactive 3D models ✔ Assessment sheets ✔ Exam Revision Section ✔ Schemes and Planning documents ✔ Chapter summaries and note pages ✔ Specific Freehand Sketching Course to assist with graphical communication and CBA's

Scan the code to see all the features Contact kora@dcgsolutions.ie for a free Teacher trial Call 087 9211625

..........................................................................................NEWS

Research shows nine out of ten people in Ireland want to learn a new skill RESEARCH carried out by Amárach found that while almost half of people reported learning a new skill since the beginning of the year, almost nine out of ten would like to learn one in the near future.

Some of the keys findings of the research included: • Of those who have recently learned a new skill, 90% said it improved their mental health and made them feel more confident, while 62% said they did it to develop themselves as a person.

• Almost one in four people are only slightly confident they have the skills to advance in

their current jobs, and only one in five are very confident they have the skills for the job they want in the next five years.

• Self-development is the main motivation for learning a new skill (62%), followed by interest in the subject (45%), and to improve health and wellbeing (39%).

• Just over half (55%) have made new friends on a course, and a similar number (51%) said it inspired their friends and family to learn new skills.

For almost two-fifths (39%), leaning a new skill has enabled them to earn more money.

Can the Northern education system be reformed?

THE education system in Northern Ireland is failing too many of its children.

That's the premise of a conference in November which seeks a path away from sectarian division and away from the 11+ selection system.

The one-day event, at the Duncairn Centre in Belfast on Saturday 11th November, has a range of speakers who will address the history of the present education system and what are the options of replacing it.

The outcomes for the North's children can vary widely across s o c i e t y. E c o n o m i s t J o h n Fitzgerald, writing in the Irish Times, pointed out that 21 per cent of 30-34 year olds have not completed post-primary education, the highest in any UK region. That contrasted with a figure of 9 per cent for the South.

The conference is organised

DIFFERENT FEATHERS STORYBOOKS An inclusion-based programme promoting acceptance of social diversities

Illustrated storybooks and teachers' resources with activities on the topics of:

Migration Disability Gender Roles

To request FREE copies of this resource for your school, please email youth@redcross.ie

by Reclaim the Englightenment, a cross community group that wants to recapture the democratic spirit of Northern radicalism of the 1790s in the wake of the American and French revolutions.

More information and booking is available at Eventbrite at tinyurl.com/4vhcypub Education 7

JUMP ZONE IS IRELAND'S FIRST AND EUROPE'S LARGEST INDOOR FULLY INSURED ACTIVITY PARKS

Looking for the ultimate school tour?

Why not check out our Jump Zone Trampoline and Inflatable Adventure Parks?

Our Jump Zone Sandyford Park has had a major renovation while Jump Zone Liffey Valley is conveniently located in the shopping centre, or try out our brand new Inflatable Adventure Park in Santry.

We have something for everyone!!

www.jumpzone.ie 8 Education

ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE OVER THE AGE OF 5 AND HAVE A WAIVER SIGNED

...................................................................................................................................................................................................... NEWS

MAINTAINING YOUR COMPETENCY, MAINTAINING YOUR REGISTRATION The INMO represent four out of five nurses and midwives in Ireland, offering support at work, continuing professional development, library and information services, and a range of benefits to members. Nurses and midwives are always learning, and INMO Professional helps you do that, with over 100 programmes delivered by experts every year, all run exclusively to fit nurses and midwives' specific needs. We run faceto-face workshops, seminars, master classes, conferences and more across the country. Our courses are fully approved by NMBI, so will count for your continuing professional development.

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University of Limerick president pays tribute to Irish American philanthropist Chuck Feeney UNIVERSITY of Limerick President Professor Kerstin Mey has paid tribute to the Irish American philanthropist Chuck Feeney following his passing.

“I am sure I speak on behalf of the entire University of Limerick community past and present in expressing our sorrow at the loss of one of the most giving of men in Chuck Feeney,” said Professor Mey. Through Atlantic Philanthropies Chuck Feeney gifted in the region of €150m to the UL Foundation, which has been transformational to the campus, the city and wider region.

He was the catalyst behind

22/09/2023 13:13:31

the establishment of the ULF in 1989 and was a long-time Foundation Board Member.

“As the son of Irish American parents, maybe it is no surprise that over €1 billion of philanthropic support went to Ireland, and UL has been one of the main beneficiaries.

"At its simplest, the University of Limerick campus, over 18,000 students and 2,000 staff would not have been possible were it not for Chuck Feeney’s generosity.”

The main thoroughfare through University of Limerick was this year named ‘Feeney Way, in honour of Mr Feeney’s practice of giving while living.

Trinity food historian debunks myth that pre-industrial beer was weaker

IRISH workers in the 16th-century consumed beer very similar to our own modern beverage with an ABV of 5% and up to 270 calories per pint.

This surprising discovery is one of many striking moments captured in a new documentary that follows the remarkable journey of Trinity food historian Susan Flavin as she faithfully replicates a beer last brewed in Dublin Castle brewhouse in the 1570s using historic recipes, heritage technologies and ancient grains.

The film Drunk? Adventures in SixteenthCentury Brewing premiered on the final night of the Arts and Humanities Research Fe s t i v a l p a r t o f Tr i n i t y ’ s E u ro p e a n Researchers’ Night celebrations.

“Historians have long understood that beer was integral to social life and a vital source of nutrition in early modern Ireland and across Europe, " said Dr Flavin.

Education 9

Creating pathways for Further Education LO U T H M e a t h E d u c a t i o n a n d Training Board (LMETB) stands tall as the largest education and training provider in the Northeast region. It provides education for over 13,000 students at primary and post-primary level, and approximately 15,000 learners in Further Education and Training (FET).

Its diverse FET provision offers a range of full-time and part-time education and training opportunities, both accredited and non-accredited, for all individuals over the age of 16.

Courses and programmes are availa b l e i n c e n t r e s , c o l l e ge s a n d community-based locations across Louth and Meath.

The right option Choosing the right option is critical for learners, and LMETB’s FET Guidance Services ensure that learners are informed and advised of the education and training options that are relevant to their needs and ambitions.

Courses offer learners the blend of skills and competencies necessary 10 Education

to achieve personal, educational and professional goals.

School Leaver Opportunities For recent school leavers, LMETB courses provide a range of pathways, where they can upskill or reskill for career opportunities, or to progress within Further or Higher Education.

LMETB’s Apprenticeship and Traineeship Provision, through its ‘earn as you learn’ model continues to support full-time trainees in upskilling whilst getting valuable

"All three of LMETB’s PLC colleges offer 'Pre-university' courses at Levels 5 and 6, which offer excellent progression links into Higher Education Institutions"

experience in the workplace. The introduction of new and innovative courses in this area means it is a promising time for anyone to consider the apprenticeship or traineeship route. A recent highlight for LMETB’s Apprenticeship Services has been the creation of LMETB’s newest FET centre in Drogheda, focused specifically on Apprenticeship at this time.

In addition, LMETB’s Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) programmes are available to school leavers and adult learners across 3 locations: O Fiaich Institute of Further Education in Dundalk, Drogheda Institute of Further Education and Dunboyne College of Further Education.

In high demand Graduates from PLC courses such as Healthcare, Business, Beauty Therapy and Professional Cookery, for example, are in high demand. An added benefit of PLC is its provision of pathways for learners into Higher Education. All three of LMETB’s PLC colleges offer “Pre-university”

and Training learners courses at Levels 5 and 6, which offer excellent progression links into Higher Education Institutions.

For school leavers aged 16-20 with few or no qualifications, LMETB’s 8 Youthreach Centres of Education also offer full-time programmes which provide learners with qualifications in a supportive and structured environment.

Opportunities to upskill & reskill LMETB is ideally positioned to be the education and training provider of choice for employers seeking to upskill their employees. Its Skills to Advance initiative offers targeted part-time interventions to support the local workforce. LMETB is proud to take the lead on the recent launch of a suite of Cybersecurity programmes by its Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence in Dundalk.

Furthermore, LMETB’s FET provision continues to enable the wider community of Louth and Meath to upskill, reskill and participate in lifelong learning. Its FET centres, located

in Drogheda, Dundalk, Kells, Navan, Athboy and Trim, offer Guidance Services and a range of courses and programmes. Specific opportunities, including Community Education and Youth Education, Training and Services, are also delivered in partnership with local community groups or organisations.

"LMETB is ideally positioned to be the education and training provider of choice for employers seeking to upskill their employees... ... to enable the wider community of Louth and Meath to upskill, reskill and participate in lifelong learning

For more information on any of LMETB’s FET courses and programmes, please visit www.lmetb.ie/fet or follow us on social media @lmetbfet.

Information is also available by email on adultguidance@lmetb.ie or by phone on 1800 991898

Co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union Education 11

We work with the environment in mind

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18 The Casino, Dublin Road, Malahide. K36A324 E: commercial@cleanbee.ie.

Commercial line 085 2526144

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NEWS .....................................................................................................................................................................................................

DCU researchers reveal commuter clean air app A NEW app in development at the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at Dublin City University could offer pedestrians and cyclists a 17.87 per cent reduction in pollution exposure, initial tests have shown.

The team at DCU used data analysis; refining and supplementing the publicly available Google Air Quality dataset for Dublin; to build a database capable of suggesting green travel routes for those travelling the city.

Primarily intended for cyclists sharing the road with cars, users can enter pollutants they wish to avoid into the app.

User preferences are then fed into an algorithm which calculates a route using the dataset. Users are then shown their quickest, and least polluted, routes on an interactive map.

The team carried out a number of experiments using the app and found that in most cases, the rate of pollutants avoided exceeds the rate of distance increase. The app offers a trade-off between pollution and trip distance.

First-Ever Neurodiversity in Education conference invites educators to foster inclusive practices and support KILKENNY will host educators, parents, and caregivers to Ireland's inaugural Neurodiversity in Education Conference, a professional event curated to enhance the inclusivity and support for neurodivergent students of all ages. Under the theme 'Inclusive Practice', the conference aims to be a nexus of knowledge and resource sharing among Ireland's educator community.

Conceived and guided by Jeanette Delahunty, a prominent figure in inclusive education, this conference aims to be a platform offering fresh perspectives, knowledge, and tools for educators.

“In this ever-evolving educational landscape, we are uniting experts and educators to foster an environment that understands and nurtures the neurodivergent students,” says Jeanette Delahunty.

Actionable Insights for Educators: Tailored workshops offering strategies and knowledge that educators can integrate into their teaching practices to foster inclusivity.

Expert Talks: Engaging discussions with

nine notable speakers, including neuroscientists and mental health experts, who will provide a overview of neurodiversity.

Networking Opportunities: Collaborate and connect with a community of likeminded educators and experts in the field of neurodiversity.

CPD: Earn valuable Continuous Professional Development (CPD) credit hours for attending the conference.

www.fulbright.ie/education-usa

Education 13

Imagining a better way to a Net Zero Future with our Bord Gáis Energy Academy "The goal of the academy will be to produce a group of skilled professionals adept at deploying cutting-edge, carbon-efficient technologies, from electric vehicle charging stations to heat pumps"

AT Bord Gáis Energy we are on a journey to transform Ireland's energy landscape. We are determined to lead the way. How? By investing in upstream opportunities to enable the transition of Ireland’s energy system to net zero.

Over the last number of years, we have switched our focus from being a classic utility supplier to providing our customers with affordable energy management services that will enable them to be more energy efficient at home and live more sustainably.

To ensure we can deliver on this to customers, it’s important that we have the skills and expertise to install these new energy efficient solutions.

Apprenticeship programme In August 2023, we announced our paid apprenticeship programme. We have launched this project in conjunction with Solas, with the aim of recruiting and training seventy apprentices over the next five years.

Our goal is to create a skilled labour pipeline and open up sustainable career development opportunities for workers right across Ireland. This new apprenticeship programme will play a significant role in fulfilling this ambition.

14 Education

It is designed to equip participants with a Level 6 Craft Certificate in plumbing, certifying them as experts in their field. This initiative will play a significant role in bolstering Bord Gáis Energy’s efforts for a Net Zero Future; it is a key part of our commitment to transform our business to become net zero by 2045 and to help our customers in Ireland reach net zero by 2050.

At Bord Gáis Energy, we understand that trade apprenticeships need to play a much larger part of our education landscape. In fact, a successful transition will hinge on a workforce that doesn’t yet exist.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland estimates that 17,000 workers will be needed for the planned programme of retrofitting in Ireland. As our services and solutions business increasingly transitions to low carbon alternatives such as heat pumps and solar PV, we recognise we need to lead in the creation of this niche and in demand, renewable skill set.

We recognise that to build a more sustainable future, we need the best team. We also recently unveiled plans to expand our Home Services division, creating an additional 230 positions over the next five years.

These roles will span various disciplines, including plumbers, "The Bord Gáis electricians, gas service engineers, quality assessors, surveyors, project Energy managers, and a diverse array of field Academy will and customer support positions and support allows to deliver our services to our individuals in their career and customers simply, affordably and equip them with sustainably. Job listings for these exciting opportunities will be feathe necessary skills to excel in tured in the Careers Section of the Bord Gáis Energy webpage. this field of work" Building sustainability Building a more sustainable future "We have set does not only mean creating an ourselves a target that 30% energy supply, we are also focused on promoting socially sustainable of our apprentices will practice. We have set ourselves a target that 30% of our apprentices be female by will be female by 2030 – this signals 2030" our intent to increase the proportion of female apprentices in Ireland from Teresa Purtill, Director of its current low rate of 6%.

Services and We have made significant efforts Solutions, Bord when it comes to promoting diversity Gáis Energy and inclusion within the organisation, including publishing our detailed Gender Pay Gap report and we hope that the apprenticeship programme will continue to propel us in the right direction.

Furthermore, our apprenticeship training will be further underpinned

Apprentices outside Bord Gáis Energy office at Warrington Place, Dublin

by the creation of the bespoke Bord Gáis Energy Academy, which will educate and train smart energy experts. The Bord Gáis Energy Academy will support individuals in their career and equip them with the necessary skills to excel in this field of work.

Skilled professionals The goal of the academy will be to produce a group of skilled professionals adept at deploying cutting-edge, carbon-efficient technologies, from electric vehicle charging stations to heat pumps.

These experts will also be wellversed in providing crucial energy efficiency advice to Bord Gáis Energy's valued customers.

With the global talent shortage continuing to present a significant challenge to this industry and through the Bord Gáis Energy Academy and the apprenticeship programme, we are investing in the home solutions engineers of the future who will help our customers realise a sustainable future.

These actions are part of the bedrock of Bord Gáis Energy’s unwavering commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2045 and aligns seamlessly with the Government's

Climate Action Plan targets.

This year’s application window closed on September 15th; despite this, eager candidates can look forward to future opportunities as applications for the next cycle are anticipated next year.

We welcome all applicants regardless of age, gender identity, or background. By the close of 2023, Bord Gáis Energy will have welcomed twenty apprentices into its ranks, with an additional fifty set to join the programme over the course of the next five years. Upon completion of their training, the apprentices will have the option to join Bord Gáis Energy’s service engineer team.

As Ireland's leading energy and services provider, we at Bord Gáis Energy are committed to spearheading the nation's transition to a greener, more sustainable future.

With a focus on fostering talent and expertise, our company's apprenticeship programme stands as a beacon of opportunity for those dedicated to shaping Ireland's energy landscape for generations to come.

For more information and to learn more about the opportunities currently available, please visit: https://www.bordgaisenergy.ie/ company/careers

Bord Gáis Energy apprentices training

Teresa Putrill, Director of Services and Solutions, Derek Davies, Head of Field Services and Solutions with two apprentices

Education 15

A World of Opportunities for Leaving Certificate students through Further Education, Training and Apprenticeships AS Leaving Certificate students across the country start thinking about their next steps after school, there has never been a better time to consider the increasingly diverse pathways to their future careers including through Further Education and Apprenticeship programmes.

Available in every county, Further Education and Training (FET) offers smart options at local level to Leaving Certificate students outside of the points race, whether they are looking for a pathway to university or direct entry into employment.

For everyone FET is for everyone, with the provision of courses at local level enabling learners not yet ready or able to move away from home to further their studies locally, without having to relocate or face long commutes.

The possibilities with FET are endless, and can lead students into a diverse range of exciting careers or to progress onto higher education, through Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses in areas such as engineering technology, animal care, cloud computing, games design, cyber security, science and more.

At one to two years in duration, PLC courses provide learners with a strong foundation in an area of student interest leading to a level 5 or 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). These courses can provide a pathway to employment, or they can also provide

students with the opportunity to try out a subject and then continue their studies in higher education if they achieve the certain results on their programme.

For those unsure of what should come next after school, FET provides a vast range of pre-university courses areas such as science, arts, engineering, law and more. Research suggests that studying a FET course first can prepare students better for going into university, with a greater chance of ultimately completing their degree.

SOL A S, together with the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) across Ireland have driven significant change in the sector, growing opportunities for learners.

A game-changer A real game-changer for students this year is the recent development of a number of Joint tertiary degree programmes, led by the National Te r t i a r y O f f i ce , a p a r t n e r s h i p between SOLAS and the Higher Education Authority.

Students can apply to these programmes outside of the points system, starting their degree in further education and completing it in higher education.

The National Apprenticeship Office together with SOLAS, the Higher Education Authority and apprenticeship providers have overseen considerable expansion of the national apprenticeship provision in recent years with over 70 different

Film student_Ballyfermot College of Further Education

16 Education

Mairide Bennis, Manufacturing Engineer at Design Pro Automation and Apprentice of the Year finalist

"There have never been more opportunities for Leaving Cert students to get where they want to go after school"

apprenticeship programmes now available and with more in the pipeline.

Complementing the highly valued craft apprenticeships in the likes of plumbing and electrical, apprenticeships have diversified into new areas such as insurance, financial services, and software development.

Earn while you learn "These courses Apprenticeships can take learners can provide a pathway to from the Leaving Certificate as far as employment, or they want to go, with a number of they can also industry programmes going all the provide way to Masters and Doctoral degrees students with at levels 9 and 10 on the NFQ. the opportunity The “earn while you learn” apprento try out a ticeship model of training has subject and then become increasingly popular with continue their studies in higher school leavers who want to go directly into a ‘ready-made’ career, education" earning a qualification in an industry where skills are in high demand.

There have never been more opportunities for Leaving Cert students to get where they want to go after school.

This year, students can explore over 70 apprenticeships at apprenticeship.ie, together with a broad and varied range of FET courses available in their local areas, including PostLeaving Cert (PLC) and pre-university courses at thisisfet.ie - both important starting points for students to consider all their options before taking their next steps.

Voice, Acting, Movement THE Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin offers a number of courses for school leavers.

There are two acting programmes, a Foundation Diploma in Acting and Theatre, and a Bachelor in Acting.

Alongside this, there is a Bachelor in Stage Management and Technical Theatre.

The Foundation Diploma is a 24-week-long programme for students who are considering entering full-time drama training but want to assess if they have the discipline and aptitude for it. The Bachelor in Acting programme is a three-year-long degree course. It is taught over 36 weeks each year and students are immersed in developing skills in voice, acting and movement.

The three-year degree programme in Stage Management and Technical Theatre is highly regarded by the industry. Students are in demand in the theatre, film and TV sectors.

90% of our graduates are earning a living in their chosen field a year after completing the programme.

Ours is a practical and hands-on approach to learning taught by expert professionals.

From the minute students walk in the door, they are working on productions and learning

every aspect of roles behind the scenes. This includes construction, lighting, costuming, production management and more. Though the focus of our training is primarily on the stage, we also have modules in film production. Students who choose to study this programme are often creative thinkers, problem-solvers, artistic, collaborative and practical.

Application is via an interview.

Our courses sit outside the CAO system and require basic matriculation by Trinity College Dublin. Our courses are accredited by Trinity College Dublin and our students are part of the main college life and have access to all the services available to Trinity students.

Applications for all programme are through our website – thelir.ie.

Please contact jessica.hilliard@thelir.ie if you would like to arrange a tour or have us visit your school.

"From the minute students walk in the door, they are working on productions and learning every aspect of roles behind the scenes"

�-.... ,. FULBRIGHT

Ireland-USA

STUDY, RESEARCH, TEACH IN THE USA The Fulbright Awards provide grants for Irish citizens, and E.U. citizens resident in the Republic of Ireland for 5+ years, to research, study, or lecture in the USA. There are five types of Fulbright grants available to Irish and E.U. citizens:

➤ Fulbright Irish Student Awards - postgraduate research/enrol in postgraduate degree programs in the U.S. ➤ Fulbright Irish FLTA Awards - teach the Irish language in the U.S. ➤ Fulbright Irish Scholar Awards - academic or professional research/ lecturing in the U.S. ➤ Fulbright Irish Tech Impact Awards - academic or professional research in the U.S. ➤ Fulbright Irish Schuman Awards - graduate & postgraduate study, research & lecturing in the U.S.

APPLY TODAY - DEADLINE 27 OCTOBER 2023, 4PM www.fulbright.ie Education 17

40, 000 learners 12 FET colleges 1 city Visit cityofdublinetb.ie

DkIT for students by students A collection of episodes that contain interviews with current and past DkIT students, academic leaders within DkIT, CEO's of international companies and insights from a range of industry professionals.

IT IS safe to say the marketing strategies that worked to recruit new students five or ten years ago are co m p l e te l y i n e f fe c t i v e to d a y.

Prospective students may only consume information digitally but decisions regarding which further or higher education institute to attend, involves people from multiple generations, parents/guardians, relatives, teachers, principals and career guidance counsellors.

Understanding the multi-generational audience looking at course co n te n t , D u n d a l k I n s t i t u te o f Technology, decided to exploit the resources they had on campus, in the shape of a 4k TV studio and the expertise of students studying BA ( H o n s ) i n F i l m & Te l e v i s i o n Production.

The conversational outreach style works for all the generations watching. To prospective students it feels like a more personalised communication, hence the rise of influencers and to their parents and guardians it will feel like watching good old fashioned broadcast content.

Studio Stories are available on the DkIT website for all to view. The series is a collection of standalone videos to support many of the undergraduate courses offered by the college. The information in each video is delivered by current and past DkIT students and academic leaders within DkIT. In some cases, CEOs of international companies who have hired DkIT graduates give their opinions on the qualities and skills required by undergraduates and graduates, for example, Microsoft, First Derivatives, Kaseya, ESB and WuXi Biologics.

"Studio Stories incorporates storytelling practices to help bridge the gap between prospective students and what the Institution is offering, and what sets DkIT apart from other Institutions"

with the ultimate goal to convert them into a DkIT undergraduate student. This series delves into a variety of disciplines that the Institute offers from Engineering, Health & Science, Business, Humanities and Informatics to the Creative Arts.

Stories Studio Stories incorporates storytelling practices to help bridge the gap between prospective students and what the Institution is offering,

and what sets DkIT apart from other Institutions. The host of this collection of videos is the super talented, and award winning DkIT graduate, David Hammond, who graduated from the Institute in 2017. He currently co-hosts, Spin 1038 national Breakfast Show called Fully Charged: Recharged and is known to this demographic.

To view some of the Studio Stories log onto https://studiostories.dkit.ie.

Awakening interest DkIT ’s ambition with Studio Stories was initially to make students aware of the types of course offerings and to awaken in them an interest to continue their research, Education 19

Art for our sake

Interview with Maureen Kennelly Director, Arts Council of Ireland AMONG the big ticket items announced in Leinster House as part of Budget 2024 was the news that funding of the Arts Council has reached €134 million.

That's serious money, up from an annual €75m in 2019. Why, when there are so many competing needs, are we spending so much money on the arts? Who cares about the arts?

On Culture Night in 2022 742,000 people engaged with 1,700 events in communities across Ireland. Huge numbers attend festivals and theatres. Counties and towns celebrate their local writers and artists.

The woman whose job is to spend

20 Education

this money is Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council. She is based in offices, comprised of two fine Georgian houses, located about 300 meters around the back of Leinster House on Merrion Square.

A native of Ballylongford in North Kerry, she is the youngest of seven children and "grew up in a house where reading was encouraged."

North Kerry is, of course, the setting for the legendary Listowel Writer's Festival. Could that have had any impact on her career?

"I consider that I was very lucky to grow up where I did because it was just eight miles from Listowel and the Writer's Festival is something that I took part in as a teenager and it was a big influence on me," she says.

The festival in turn attracted other arts groups and the Druid Theatre toured the town, introducing her to top class theatre. So arts were in the local DNA. "I am from the same village as Brendan Kennelly (no relation) and remember seeing Brendan on the Late Late Show, he was a very regular panellist and guest at that time. It was a formative influence because you felt, 'OK , well you can be from B a l l y l o n g fo rd a n d yo u c a n b e involved in the national discourse'."

Maureen was writing poems as a te e n a ge r a n d s h e re c a l l s t h a t Brendan was very encouraging to her.

She went to UCD to study sociology and politics, not English she says as if she still can't believe it. In any case, she hung around with students involved in film and theatre.

"I was involved in the UCD Drama

Soc' myself and I was writing some (not very good) poems. I attended slam poetry events in Dublin at the time, which was a kind of underground movement," she says.

Geography again played a part in her journey when she began working "Dynamite" is in the North Inner City in Dublin. In how she the early 1990's Ireland was beginning describes her to take off economically and there year in Galway. was a sense of renewal in areas that "I had an had been blighted by disadvantage amazing and dereliction. university The North Inner City was not a experience, with fashionable district but it became the lots of likesetting for the Irish Writers Centre in minded souls in Parnell Square and the James Joyce my class, there Centre in North Great George's were just 15 of Street. A corner was being turned as us. But it people began to see both the value exposed us to of Ireland's cultural heritage and the everything fabric of Dublin's Georgian architecGalway had to ture. offer. We were Maureen volunteered to work at encouraged by the James Joyce Centre and came our teachers to under the "fantastic influence" of Ken get out and see Monaghan, who was a nephew of the things, five great man himself, and had been a nights a week co-founder of the Centre. She spent her weekends working there.

So what with giving her social time and her spare time to the arts, she decided to make it official by taking on an Arts Administration Higher Diploma at University College Galway.

"Dynamite" is how she describes her year in Galway. "I had an amazing university experience, with lots of like-minded souls in my class, there were just 15 of us. But it exposed us to everything Galway had to offer.

We were encouraged by our teachers

By Niall Gormley

Images taken from the Arts Council 2022 Annual Report available, with image explanations, at www.artscouncil.ie/publications

to get out and see things, five nights a week. And I haven't stopped since."

And she really hasn't. Her profile on the Arts Council website says: "She was previously director of Kilkenny Arts Festival, artistic director of the Mermaid Arts Centre, general manager with Fishamble Theatre Company, and she also worked with Druid Theatre Company, the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, The Arts Council and the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland.

On a freelance basis, she worked with a wide range of organisations including Theatre Forum, Sing Ireland, the Per formance Corporation and Age & Opportunity.

She was Primary Curator with the Mountains to Sea DLR Book Festival and Programme Director with the Cúir t International Festival of Literature.

"She was a member of the judging panel for the Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards for 2002 and 2006 and she chaired this panel in 2003. She has been a board member of Kilkenny Arts Festival, the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, the Butler Gallery, Barabbas Theatre Company and the Dock Arts Centre."

Whew. There was more but I would probably be breaching some plagiarism law if I kept quoting. So now she's in charge of spending the €134m of public money. What is the Arts Council?

"It is the national agenc y to develop and fund the arts. I guess there are two sides to what we do.

One is a kind of straightforward funding process and there are

organizations with whom we've had a very long relationship.

"At the top of the funding pile you have the Abbey Theatre and that's in receipt this year of €8 million from us. Then you'll have organisations that would be receiving around "The findings €20,000 or €30,000. So in all, there that have come are probably more than 300 organiback are zations in receipt of monies from the extraordinarily Arts Council. positive in "The other side is the individuals terms of the that receive funding. There are over impact on 3,000 individuals that we fund and children; in most of those are on an annual terms of their basis." levels of Why fund individual artists? happiness, their "Most of the individual artists' levels of self funding comes through what we call esteem and 'bursaries'. So a writer will say, 'look I confidence are need to buy time for myself. I want to way, way higher work on my novel. I want to work on as a result of a book of poems. I need time to sit at participating in the desk and actually write rather Creative than be worried about how I’m going Schools, so to earn a crust'. So that's where fundthat's absolutely ing from the Arts Council comes in fantastic" particularly useful."

Who decides what is art? One woman's scribble is another woman's masterpiece. There must be rational way to decide.

"We go through a very rigorous assessment process and we use what we call a 'peer panel process' for many of our individual artists' awards, whereby a number of artists actually serve on an assessment panel. These are people who are working in the area themselves so they will have a lot of credibility."

Wouldn't that perhaps end up with the same types of people and art

getting funded?

"We're very conscious that we want to make the people whom we fund and support more representative of the population," she says.

"So what we're doing is surveying the people who apply to us on a regular basis to ask them about their gender, their sexuality, their socioe co n o m i c b a c k g ro u n d s , t h e i r ethnicity; so that we can ask: 'OK are we really reflecting Ireland as life is lived here today?' That's really important to us. This is all part of our equality, diversity and inclusion policies."

I ask her about the Arts Council's ideas for bringing the arts into schools and to change the situation in the past where art was an afterthought in the education system.

"It is astonishingly different now in a good way and I'm thrilled to be able to tell you that. We run a program called Creative Schools and we work with the Department of Education and Creative Ireland closely on that.

"There's an investment of just short of three million euros going into that every year and we have been able to impact on a quarter of all schools through this Creative Schoos program. We have artists going into schools and working with school teachers on a very intensive basis to bring arts to children so I mean that is a game-changer."

How does she know that?

"We've been going through lots of evaluations (by DCU) because obviously it's a big investment on behalf of the public. The findings that have come back are extraordinarily positive in terms of the impact on children; in terms of their levels of happiness, their levels of self esteem and confidence are way, way higher as a result of participating in Creative Schools, so that's absolutely fantastic."

The Arts Council are also looking to extend access to the arts into the socio-economic disadvantaged areas and Maureen says that the DEIS schools make up a very high proportion of applicants for the Creative Schools program.

Finally, I ask her where all this is taking us and she points to the Booker long list this year where there were four Irish writers, all of whom received backing from the Arts Council over the years; and poets Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and Jane Clarke made the TS Eliot Prize shortlist; and to An Cailín Ciúin, the Claire Keegan book and film that made it all the way to the Oscars.

Money well spent, it seems.

Education 21

Do you want your students to know more about the European Union?

The European Commission Representation in Ireland offers a range of activities and resources for secondary schools.

School visits School groups are welcome to visit us at the Representation to learn about the European Union. A typical visit lasts 90 minutes and may include a presentation, an educational video, a Q&A, and a quiz. Virtual visits are also possible. Email us to book your visit.

Educational Resources The European Commission Representation offers a variety of publications, posters and other educational materials, aimed at teachers and students.

Digital resources in the 24 EU languages may be found online at the ‘Learning Corner’.

The Representation has produced a 25-minute video for young people, ‘Me, You and the EU’, and a short video celebrating 50 years of Ireland’s EU membership. Both can be viewed on our YouTube channel @ EUIreland

School Visit to the Representation 22 Education

Learning Corner

COMPETITIONS Model Council of the European Union

Aistritheoirí Óga – comórtas uile-oileáin

This annual debate for secondary schools is a simulation of a meeting of the Council of the European Union and involves teams from schools around Ireland, each representing an EU Member State. The event enables students to learn about the EU’s decision-making process. The 2023 event took place in March in Dublin City Hall and the topic was renewable energy. The winning team from Scoil Muire agus Padraig in Co. Mayo won a class trip to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Registration usually takes place in November.

Is é an Coimisiún Eorpach i gcomhar le Rialtas na hÉireann a eagraíonn an comórtas seo. Is comórtas é le haghaidh daltaí meánscoile in Éirinn, thuaidh agus theas, a bhfuil 15 bliana slánaithe acu ar an 1 Méan Fómhair den scoilbhliain sin agus a bhfuil sé ar a gcumas aistriúchán a dhéanamh ó Bhéarla go Gaeilge, nó ó roinnt eile de theangacha oifigiúla an Aontais Eorpaigh go Gaeilge.

Seoltar an comórtas i mí na Samhna/mí na Nollag gach bliain agus is san earrach a bhíonn Lá an Chomórtais.

Model Council 2023 winners, Shauna Walsh & Maeve Murtagh

Model Council of the EU, 2023

Buaiteoirí Aistritheoirí Óga 2023

Juvenes Translatores – the multilingual translation competition for secondary schools This annual translation competition is open to students across the European Union who are 17 years of age and who have the ability to translate between any two of the EU’s 24 official languages. The competition is launched in September each year. All entries are then entered into a random draw and 705 schools are invited to proceed to the next stage. The final number of participating schools per country is equal to the number of MEPs representing that country – i.e. 13 for Ireland. The winners - one per country - are announced in early February and prizes are normally presented at a special ceremony in Brussels during the Spring.

TRANSLATION WORKSHOPS / CEARDLANNA AISTRIÚCHÁIN We work with universities to organise translation workshops for senior cycle secondary school students (in English agus as Gaeilge). Staff translators from the EU institutions explain what they do (and how they got their jobs). University lecturers set out the courses they have on offer for prospective translators. During the final part of the programme, the translators work with the students in smaller groups to see how they would handle a particular text. These events can also take place virtually.

Buaiteoirí Juvenes Translatores 2023

OTHER EVENTS Ask us about celebrating the European Day of Languages (26 September) or Europe Day (9 May) in your school.

Visit our stands at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (January), at the National Ploughing Championships (September), or at Higher Options.

The European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland also organises the Ambassador Schools Programme (EPAS) which aims to create a network of students (Transition Year) and schools engaging with the European Parliament and MEPs.

Further information: Email eu-ie-info-request@ec.europa.eu • Visit our website www.euireland.ie

Education 23

Transition Year Residential Programme Barretstown offers an exciting Residential TY Programme set amidst the stunning 500-acre campus in Co. Kildare. Lasting 5 days and 4 nights, the programme runs throughout the school year, providing an enriching experience for students.

This immersive opportunity focuses on fostering essential skills such as leadership, communication, decision making, and problem-solving. Moreover, it aims to strengthen class bonds through engaging team-building activities and challenges.

During their stay at Barretstown, students will gain valuable insights into the organisation’s mission of supporting children and families facing serious illnesses.

While at Barretstown, students will have access to the expertise and knowledge of the dedicated Barretstown team and campus’s excellent facilities.

Participants will be accommodated in the state-of-the-art building named ‘Paul’s

Hideout’ and enjoy delicious meals served at the award-winning ‘Elizabeth’s Tree House’ dining hall.

As fun is the central element to everything we do at Barretstown, students will enjoy some of the Barretstown magic through team building challenges, adventure activities and our engaging evening programme.

The programme is tailored for school groups ranging from 25 to 75 students, and each 5-day/4-night session commences on Monday mornings, concluding on Friday afternoons. Through various workshops on communication, decision making, and problem-solving, the TY Residential Programme aims to cultivate essential life and leadership skills, with an emphasis on personal development.

Reservations for the Autumn 2023 / Spring 2024 sessions are now open! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity for your students.

Scan here for more info:

Outreach School Programmes Barretstown offers exceptional therapeutic programmes, free of charge, at our specially designed campus in County Kildare, as well as through outreach initiatives in schools and hospitals across Ireland. These programmes are specifically designed to support children and their families who are living with serious illnesses. Our school outreach includes two distinct programmes; Barretstown’s School Education Programme: Our aim is to create a fun, interactive, and child-friendly approach to help students understand and cope with the serious illness of a classmate. By dispelling myths and misconceptions, this free programme encourages classmates to be supportive, reducing the risk of bullying, exclusion, confusion, or anxiety.

Our Outreach Team can facilitate this

programme at your child’s school, tailoring it to suit each child’s individual needs.

Camp in Schools Programme: Designed for children who have participated in our residential programme, Camp in Schools brings the joy and excitement of camp into the classroom.

This post-camp booster fosters a sense of connection among students, minimising feelings of isolation and enabling the child to share their camp experiences with their peers. As always, this programme is personalised to meet the specific needs of each child.

www.barretstown.org

Scan here for more info:

The Creativity for Wellbeing workbook

by Mental Health Ireland Explore your own path, design your own journey

THE Creativity for Wellbeing workbook by Mental Health Ireland uses creative tools to guide you on your journey of self-discovery and wellbeing . It includes visualisations, reflections, journaling, mindful colouring, quotes, and coaching tools.

The workbook is a beautiful collection of art, illustration and mindful wisdom. Turning the pages is starting a new journey of creativity, wellbeing and self-discovery.

“This workbook encourages us to give our inner wisdom a stronger voice so we can listen with confidence,” said Gina Delaney, Mental Health Ireland Development Officer and Project Lead for Content & Coaching Guidance for the workbook.

The ROSE Model In this wellbeing workbook, Mental Health Ireland uses the ROSE Model to create a blueprint to discover our

authentic self and to begin living our lives by it. In each chapter, the reader is invited to explore an element of the ROSE Model – Reason to exist, O p t i m i s m , S e l f - i d e n t i t y, Empowerment.

The team behind the workbook have also selected creative elements and coaching tools for each chapter to support you to deepen your knowledge of what is important to you. These include visualisations, mindful colouring pages, a Wheel of Life tool, reflective questions, a values tool, and many more. The creator of the ROSE Model and Director of Kingstown College, Paula King, guided the incorporation of the model.

The Creativity for Wellbeing Workbook is beautifully illustrated by artist Dominika Stoppa who specialises in botanical illustrations, linocut prints and portraiture.

The Workbook was coproduced by

"The team behind the workbook have also selected creative elements and coaching tools for each chapter to support you to deepen your knowledge of what is important to you"

a passionate group of mental health promoters, community development workers, recovery education experts, coaching experts, people with lived experience and members of the team in Mental Health Ireland.

All proceeds from the sale of the Creativity for Wellbeing Workbook will go to Mental Health Ireland (CHY 5594), a charity whose mission is to promote and enhance mental health and wellbeing and to create a culture where we are all respected and supported, especially when our mental health is challenged.

Visit www.mentalhealthireland.ie/ mindfulness-creativity for audio and downloadable transcripts of the visualisations featured in the workbook.

You can also find out more about the workbook, enjoy some complementary downloadable colouring pages and purchase a copy

Education 25

A CLEAR ROUTE TO THE FLIGHT DECK

A CLEAR RYAN ROUTE AI R M ETO N TOR E D PRO GRAMME THEAre FLIGHT DECK you interested in pursuing a career as a pilot with Ryanair? If so, the Ryanair Mentored Programme with AFTA is the perfect opportunity for you. Our programme is specifically designed to train aspiring pilots for a career with Ryanair. Join our Mentored Programme today and take the first step towards a fulfilling and rewarding career with Ryanair.

RY ANA I R ME N T O RE D P RO G RA MM E

in pursuing a career as a pilot with Ryanair? If GLOBE AIAre R Myou E Ninterested TOR E D PRO GRAMME

Ryanair Mentored Programme withwith AFTA is the perfect Ready to takeso, yourthe aviation career to new heights?

Join the best the GlobeAir Mentored Programme opportunity forbecome you. Our programme specifically to programme is in partnership with AFTA, and a part of Europe'sistop private jet designed company. Our designed to train you using pilots GlobeAir's SOPs, soJoin you'll have the skills you need to aspiring for aindustry-leading career with Ryanair. our Mentored succeed as a Programme corporate travel pilot.and take the first step towards a fulfilling and today rewarding career with Ryanair.

GE T A D EGR E E AN D A PILOTS LIC ENC E

AFTA have collaborated with Munster Technological University (MTU) to provide prospective pilots with a unique opportunity to complete embedded commercial pilot training as part of a level 8 Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Global Business and Pilot Studies degree.

GL OBEA IR ME N T O RE D PR O G RAM ME

Ready to take your aviation career to new heights? Join the best with the GlobeAir Mentored Programme in partnership with AFTA, and become a part of Europe's top private jet www.afta.ie | @atlanticflighttrainingacademy | enquiries@afta.ie company.

Our programme is designed to train you using GlobeAir's industry-leading SOPs, so you'll have the skills you need to succeed as a corporate travel pilot.

GET A DEGREE AN D A PI LOTS LI CENCE AFTA have collaborated with Munster Technological University (MTU) to provide prospective pilots with a unique opportunity to complete embedded commercial pilot training as part of a Level 7 & Level level 88 Degrees Bachelorinof Science (Hons) in Global Business and Pilot Studies degree.

Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Come Visit Us www.afta.ie | @atlanticflighttrainingacademy | enquiries@afta.ie Undergraduate Open Day Thursday, 26th October 2023, 11am-3pm CAO Choices Open Evening Wednesday, 24th January 2024, 6pm-8pm Spring Open Day Thursday, 7th March 2024, 10am-1pm

For more information contact: slo@carlowcollege.ie Or Visit: www.carlowcollege.ie/open-day

26 Education

Revised HEAR scheme aims to reach more disadvantaged groups THE Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) has completed a review of its effectiveness in targeting those groups who, historically, have not accessed higher education due to socioeconomic barriers and will launch a revised version of the scheme in 2025.

Initially rolled out in 2008, HEAR was established in recognition of the obstacles that students from disadvantaged backgrounds face when pursuing higher education. It sought to address these challenges by providing an alternative entry scheme in which universities and colleges developed a set of common criteria to offer places on reduced points to school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds who are resident in the Republic of Ireland.

Improving participation Overall the HEAR scheme has contributed significantly to improving participation in higher education by young people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage.

However, in the context of the National Access Plan 2022-2028, additional target groups, including lone parents, teen parents, and Irish Travellers have not been specifically targeted by this scheme. HEAR therefore underwent a review process, which would assess its effectiveness, identify the areas which need to be improved, and to recommend the actions needed to enhance the scheme to ensure that applicants experiencing socio-economic barriers to higher education are

addressed. This review was conducted in consultation with the wider education sector including students themselves.

New version coming The revised version of HEAR scheme will come into operation in 2025. Now operational in every public Higher Education Institution in Ireland, the first beneficiaries will apply in the 2024/25 academic year, and be admitted into higher education in Autumn 2025.

The revised HEAR scheme will still include most of the same criteria for eligibility but it will introduce a system of prioritisation where those who are most affected by socioeconomic disadvantage will be prioritised for offers.

One of the key enhancements of the revised HEAR scheme is its commitment to include Irish Travellers and Roma students. These communities have historically faced extreme marginalization, resulting in low participation rates in higher education. HEAR recognises the need to redress this imbalance by offering a prioritised entry route for these students, acknowledging the unique challenges they encounter.

The revised HEAR scheme also addresses the challenges faced by young parents who wish to continue their education. Many students who become parents while still attending post-primary school encounter difficulties balancing their parental responsibilities with their academic pursuits. HEAR recognizes this barrier for these students and will also

prioritise them to help them to pursue higher education while fulfilling their parental duties.

These measures are taken in addition to the specific inclusion of young people who are in the care of the state or TUSLA. These students often face complex life circumstances and "The revised may lack the necessary support netHEAR scheme will still include w o r k s to n a v i g a te t h e h i g h e r education system. HEAR aims to most of the same criteria for bridge this gap by including them in eligibility but it it revised model of prioritisation. will introduce a Inclusive and equitable system of HEAR is a testament to the higher prioritisation education sector’s commitment to where those fostering inclusivity and diversity who are most within its higher education instituaffected by socioeconomic tions.

In acknowledging the challenges disadvantage faced by these groups and individuwill be als, the Higher Education Institutions prioritised for participating in HEAR are sending a offers" powerful message that, if they choose to do so, there is an opportunity for everyone to pursue higher education and reach their full potential.

The dedicated staff of post-primary schools and the wider education sector have always played a crucial role in spreading awareness about the HEAR scheme and ensuring that students are informed and supported throughout the application process.

Together, we can continue to make strides towards a more inclusive and equitable higher education landscape in Ireland.

For more information about HEAR, visit www.accesscollege.ie Education 27

So you want to be a pilot?

By Mark Dwyer Editor, Flying in Ireland

Part 3 This guide is published in three parts.

Parts 1 and 2 were published in the previous editions and are available online.

Full version available at flyinginireland.com

Integrated Route An integrated course is a type of all in one package. A school will take you from ab initio (no previous training) right through the process from PPL to frozen ATPL ('Frozen' is when a student has passed the exams but not the flying requirements). Some courses may also offer an MCC course too.

SO YOU WANT TO BE A PILOT? Part 1 Introduction The Medical Which path to a licence?

Private Pilot Licence (PPL) Night Qualification ATPL Theoretical Knowledge Instrument Rating Multi Engine Rating Part 2 Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) Upset Prevention & Recovery Training Multi Crew Cooperation (MCC) APS MCC Type Rating (TR) Modular Route Part 3 Integrated Route Integrated or modular route?

The Job Market Other Flying Occupations Irish Air Corps Cadetships Looking further

28 Education

The restriction with the integrated option is that you have to complete all the training with one school.

However the advantage is that each part of the courses runs in quick succession allowing you to complete your training in the shortest possible time.

Here in Ireland, Atlantic Flight Training Academy in Cork and the National Flight Centre in Weston offer an integrated route. Outside of Ireland, there are a plenty of training schools throughout Europe offering integrated training.

Integrated or modular route?

So now for the 64 million dollar question, modular or integrated? I could probably write a book on the pros and cons of each and still not give a definitive answer. Again the choice between the two routes will depend on your personal circumstances.

If you want a frozen ATPL as quickly as possible, the integrated route will get you there quickly but you’ll pay a premium for it. On the other hand if you have time to spare, a modular route may be a better option based purely on expense.

Although the cost of training is a huge factor, you should also look at the quality and reputation of the school. How many pilots have they trained there, what airlines are they flying with, what are current students saying about the school etc.

Your aptitude towards learning and flying is another important factor worth taking into consideration. If you have trouble studying on your own and lack self-discipline, the

My office today

structure of an integrated route may suit you better.

The freedom of a modular course may suit people interested in starting the training part-time initially. This "If you want a will allow them to fit flying around frozen ATPL as their personal / professional life. quickly as Consequently the road to a flying possible, the integrated route licence will be longer. There is a wealth of information already availwill get you able on Modular vs. Integrated. there quickly I would recommend taking a look but you’ll pay a premium for it. at the student section of the Flying in Ireland forum (flyinginireland.com) On the other hand if you have for more information and pprune.org. time to spare, a modular route The Job Market may be a better The last five years have been option based unprecedented in the jobs market. purely on From mass layoffs and furloughs expense" during Covid to a massive surge in new jobs resulting from a post-Covid boom in travel shows the cyclical nature of the airline business.

Nobody can forecast a shock such as Covid or September ’11, but if we stand back and look at the big picture, aviation has seen a steady

growth trend over the last 50 years albeit with the odd crisis here and there.

While it’s always worrying to see these things as a trainee pilot, you must look at the bigger picture, and you’ll see there’s huge demand in the long term. The 2022 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook, a respected industry forecast of personnel demand, projects that 602,000 new commercial airline pilots, 610,000 new maintenance technicians, and 899,000 new cabin crew will be needed to fly and maintain the world fleet over the next 20 years.

Most airlines operate on an average of 5 crew (10 pilots) per aircraft.

This will cover holidays and days off and allow the airline to get maximum utilisation out of their aircraft.

As a cadet pilot entering an airline, you must be prepared to be based abroad initially. If you go down the pilot route, remember that there is no guarantee of a job at the end of your training. So keep an eye on how the industry changes throughout your training.

In most cases the individuals own approach and determination often plays a large part in achieving the job of their dreams.

Other Flying Occupations Most people think of flying passenger jets as the only type of commercial flying but there are others. In the past becoming a flight instructor was a natural progression through your flight training to build hours for that elusive airline job.

In the past decade that trend has changed and most skipped the instructors rating and went straight to the jets. As a result there is a widespread shortage of instructors throughout Europe. In Ireland professional instructor jobs are mainly limited to the bigger flying schools at Weston and Cork. Flight instruction

is heavily dependent on weather but an instructor can expect to fly from 500-900 hours per year depending on school, aircraft availability etc.

Aerial photography pilot, aerial survey pilot, parachute pilot and corporate jet jobs are also options to be considered for building hours or earning some money. You will need at least CPL to do any of these flying activities.

Irish Air Corps Most years the Irish Air Corps advertise Military Pilot Cadetships.

This is certainly an interesting flying job with lots of opportunities but your interest must go beyond flying and into the military as it is primarily a military job.

The selection process is gruelling and includes a physical test, technical interviews, aptitude tests and a final panel interview. The thousands of initial applicants are eventually whittled down to the lucky few. Before you see an aeroplane you will be expected to pass your military training in the Curragh Camp before beginning the 200 hour wings course at Baldonnel.

On successful completion of your training you will be commissioned as an officer. www.military.ie/air-corps/ has lots of useful information on the Air Corps.

After my CPL I did some flying as an aerial photography pilot although there are probably less opportunities these days with the advent of drones.

Cadetships A question I often get asked is “will "Flying is the airline not pay for my training?” fantastic fun In short the answer is usually 'No'. and the freedom In recent years training costs have of flying in a shifted from the airlines to the cadet light aircraft is pilot, presumably to cut costs. something Ryanair has a mentored pilot proeverybody gramme with several schools around should Europe that gives you preferential experience at treatment at the pilot selection stage. least once in Although the cost is still borne by the their life" candidate the prospect of a job at the end of the training makes the initial investment a bit easier to swallow.

Some airlines will offer to pay the type rating cost for you if you agree to stay with the airline for a defined period, usually in the region of 5 years.

More recently, Aer Lingus and Flight Training Europe have teamed up offer a fully sponsored cadet programme. This is for a Multi-Pilot Licence (MPL), slightly different to what we’ve discussed above as it limits you to only flying for Aer Lingus. It’s definitely worth a look if it’s advertised again but the number of cadets taken is relatively small.

A career in the Air Corps is rewarding but primarily a military job

About the author Mark is an airline pilot flying the Boeing 737 for a major European airline. In addition he is also a Type Rating Instructor, Type Rating Examiner and Base Training Captain on the B737.

Outside of commercial flying Mark enjoys flying light aircraft from the smallest 3 Axis microlights up to heavier singles. He is also an instructor and EASA Examiner on single engines and a UK CAA Type Rating Examiner.

He flies the Chipmunk for the Irish Historic Flight Foundation (IHFF).

Mark became the Chairman of the National Microlight Association of Ireland (NMAI) in

2013 and has overseen a massive growth in the organisation. In this role he has worked at local and national levels. In 2015, Mark won ‘Upcoming Aviation Professional Award’ at the Aviation Industry Awards sponsored by the IAA. He is now the Head of Training at FunFly Aerosports Flying Club who offer affordable EASA LAPL and PPL training in the Leinster area.

Mark launched www.flyinginireland.com back in 2002 while always managing the website, he has also been Editor and Deputy Editor of FlyingInIreland Magazine from 2005 to 2015.

Looking further This article should prepare you with a basic knowledge of the route to becoming a pilot and allow you to do further research into the options open to you.

Flying is fantastic fun and the freedom of flying in a light aircraft is something everybody should experience at least once in their life.

If you have any further questions about flight training I can be contacted by email at mark@ flyinginireland.com, take a look at the Flying In Ireland website or take a look at Pilot.ie which will be launched shortly with useful articles about learning to fly.

Happy Flying!

Education 29

Start your Tech Career Journey with

Have you an interest in Tech but are not sure where to start?

Looking for tech related programmes to develop your students' digital skills and literacy?

FIT offer a range of FREE programmes suitable for schools, educators, students, career changers and anyone with an interest in technology.

Through our programmes and courses, you will:

Increase your digital skills & literacy Develop confidence in tech Gain awareness of Tech Career Pathways Earn a Qualification Progress to a tech career

Visit www.fit.ie to start your tech journey…

30 Education

Who are FOR over 20 years, FIT or Fastrack to Information Technology is a representative organisation of the technology sector committed to growing Irelands tech talent pipeline.

Our mission is to promote inclusion and diversity through our programs and courses, creating wider access to tech skills training which leads to exciting career paths and quality employment opportunities for anyone who has a curiosity and passion for

technology FIT will work with you and your students to grow more confident with tech, develop digital skills & literacy, upskill and increase awareness of opportunites in the tech sector for progresssion to a tech career.

O u r e x p e r i e n c e d t e a m o f Te c h Employment Officers are on hand to assist FIT participants through the duration of their course to employment and a desired career path established.

Choose Tech - School / Youth Reach Programme – Educators / TY, 5th, 6th Year & LCA Choose Tech is a fun, online platfrom with 70+ modules that support & inspire students to learn about the world of technology, grow confidence with tech and help them consider tech as a career option and the pathways to achieve this such as tech apprenticeships.

Near Peer Engagements – Career Work Shops – Educator Support Resources – Micro-Credential Certification - Bronze, Silver & Gold Awards Levels

Skills2Succeed - Career Changers/ Job Seekers

Our School Programme team offer support to educators and guidance counsellors to help increase access and inclusion for young people into the tech sector.

We will work with you to enable young job seekers to meet the rapidly changing labour market and digitalised economy.

Through our programmes, students will learn about the world of tech and the pathway options to a tech career such as a Tech Apprenticeship.

Pre-Tech Apprenticeship - Early School leavers/Youth/ Students/Job Seekers/ Career Changers (18+) Pre-tech apprenticeship is a 9-month full time programme that showcases tech roles and provides skills sampling in growth areas such as Software Development, Network Engineering and Cyber Security. On completion of the course you receive Level 5 Certification and can progress to a Tech Apprenticeship.

Tech Apprenticeships - Job Seekers/ Career Changers/ Unemployed (18+)

Highly interactive online training program with 36 bite sized career development modules to help learners build the skills and confidence they The FIT Tech Apprenticeship programme is need to make smart career choices to find and accredited at Level 6 on the National succeed in employment. We can help you plan Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). The your career, get a job and build skills for the future portfolio of apprenticeships includes Software with this free and interactive training.

Development, Network Engineering and Cybersecurity. This national Tech Apprenticeship course is a 2 year programme which adopts a Skills for Jobs – Educators, Students, learning-by-doing format of ICT skills Career Changers/Job Seekers development, giving meaning to the concept of This global skills initiative, designed by ‘hire education’. The trainees combine off-the-job Microsoft and LinkedIn, provides free skills training with on-the-job application for a access to 350 courses & Career Essentials Certificates for seven of the most well-rounded learning experience. On successful completion of in-demand jobs in the digital economy. These include Generative AI, the programme, qualified apprentices have the potential to Administrative Professional, Project Manager, Business Analyst, Systems progress into full-time positions with their employers Administrator, Software Developer or Data Analyst.

Through this initiative Microsoft and LinkedIn will be offering up to 50,000 LinkedIn Premium subscriptions to leaners who complete a pathway. Learners Circular Economy Skills Training – Unemployed/ will also have access to a 9-week mentorship programme run in collaboration Career Changers/ Early School Leavers (18+) with GMI. Skills for jobs is designed to discover new career paths, learn Supported by WEEE Ireland and the relevant skills and secure in-demand jobs.

White Goods Association, FIT offers training in white good electrical repair Gizmo Labs - Unemployed/ Job Seekers/ to prolong the life cycle of white goods Early School Leavers/Youth (18+) and create a steady supply of qualified A local training initiative programme targeting field technicians (QQI L6) with regard to youth unemployment with a training centres located maintenance, repair and recycling. Open to all candidates interested in Dunshaughlin and Ballina offering Advanced in a career prolonging the life cycle of white goods in the interest of Manufacturing L4 courses and ICT introductory programmes. sustainability, reduced waste, and environmental wellbeing.

30,000+

Completed Courses

22,500+ Employed

250+

Sponsor Companies

For more information on FIT programmes go to www.fit.ie Email info@fit.ie or choosetech@fit.ie

Education 31

Do you want to be part of the team connecting our communities to a clean electric future?

AT ESB Networks, we build and maintain Ireland’s electricity network, connecting over 2.4 million homes, farms and businesses to a clean electric future. We’ve been connecting customers to Ireland’s electricity network since the foundation of ESB in 1927.

We’ve also been making new connections, building a network that’s stronger than ever so we can all be kinder to the planet. We are connecting over 2.4 million homes, farms and businesses to a clean electric future and ESB Networks’ apprentices play an important role in delivering this.

We have recruited over 300 apprentices in the last four years. Our recruitment campaign runs each year in February/March.

The 2023 application process is now closed. The next round will open in February 2024. In the meantime, there are a number of interesting videos on our website that will give you an idea of the type of work our Apprentice Electricians/Network Technicians are involved in on a day-to-day basis.

As an Apprentice Electrician, you will receive on-thejob training and work as part of front-line teams. As well 32 Education

as classroom-based learning, our Apprentices benefit from varied work experience, working both indoors and outdoors, and learning about technology, customer service, and delivering results under pressure. Our Apprentices learn a variety of electrical and practical skills and, upon completion of the programme obtain a QQI Advanced Level 6 Electrical Trade Certificate which is recognised around the world.

Seven Phases The ESB Networks Electrical Apprenticeship is SOLAS standards-based, consisting of 208 weeks (four years).

During this time, there are seven SOLAS Phases which include on-the-job training during phases 1, 3, 5 and 7 where apprentices work closely with a qualified Network Technician constructing and maintaining the electricity network on varied sites across their assigned area of the country.

SOLAS Phase 2 is in one of the many SOLAS Training Centres while their Phase 4 and 6 are in colleges around the country. Finally, there are 24 weeks of ESB Networks off-the-job training which takes place in the ESB

"As well as classroombased learning, our Apprentices benefit from varied work experience, working both indoors and outdoors, and learning about technology, customer service, and delivering results under pressure"

If so, ESB Networks Electrical Apprenticeship Programme might be for you.

Networks Training Centre, Portlaoise.

Having completed the four-year programme, Apprentices will have gained experience working with a "Although the job requires leading utility company. an element of The Role physicality Our Customers are at the heart of ESB Networks, there is much through their on-the-job experience, ESB Networks’ more to the apprentices will be at the forefront in delivering and programme providing a world class service to our 2.4 million customthan climbing ers. poles, this Although the job requires an element of physicality apprenticeship combines both there is much more to the programme than climbing poles, this apprenticeship combines both physical effort physical effort and logical thinking. and logical No two days are the same in the programme, apprenthinking" tices will be assisting and dealing with a wide range of our customers’ needs.

In their day-to-day work activities they may be responding to electrical faults and fault finding to maintain a reliable supply of electricity for our customer, connecting new customers, both residential and com-

mercial to the electricity network, replacing and maintaining electrical assets and installing new elements to the electricity network both overhead and underground technologies.

Peer Support A critical part of the ESB Networks Apprenticeship Programme is the training and peer support given to the apprentices. Throughout the programme apprentices work alongside and closely with experienced Network Technicians.

While the job may be challenging, the apprentice is always part of a team who will be there to assist and support throughout the programme. ESB Networks greatly fosters and encourages the idea of creating a team and peer support network.

For more information and to learn how to apply visit www.esbnetworks.ie/apprenticeships Education 33

Graduate Programmes

- Mechanical Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Quantity Surveying - Building Information Modelling - Health and Safety - Accounting - Procurement

What We Offer

Who You Are

- Investing in Your Growth - Hands-on Learning - Continuous Professional Development - Study and Exam Leave Paid - Professional Bodies Fees Paid - Diverse Learning Experiences - Promotional Pathways - Global Exposure /Opportunities to Work Abroad - Blue-Chip Clients - Scale of Projects - Innovation and Collaboration - Challenging Environment - Connected Community

You are an ambitious, driven, and motivated graduate. You are a proven self-starter with unparalleled determination, known for your ability to seamlessly collaborate within a team. Your excellent communication skills are just one facet of your remarkable talent.

Your unyielding ambition fuels your desire for a career filled with exciting challenges and unparalleled opportunities to develop and showcase your skills and expertise.

joneseng.com 34 Education

Apprenticeship Programmes

- Electrical - Electrical & Instrumentation - Plumbing - Pipefitting

What We Offer

Who You Are

- Earn while you learn - QQI Level 6 qualification (internationally recognised) - Both theory & practical “hands on” experience - Career for life - Opportunities to work overseas - Opportunities to progress your career

•

Minimum of five passes at leaving certificate level (must include mathematics)

•

Successfully pass the Ishihara Colour Vision Test

•

Valid manual handling & safepass certificates

Jones Engineering are the largest trainer of construction apprentices in Ireland with 300+ apprentices in our employment annually.

We are proud to say we have had two gold medal winners in the World Skills competition and a gold and a bronze medal winner in the Worldskills Ireland competition. Such competitions require skill and determination and we encourage and mentor our apprentices to become the best in their field.

joneseng.com Education 35

CLIMATE CHANGE

Global warming facts for Europe and the Globe What is the state of climate change? The Copernicus Climate Change Service is the EU's means of communicating information to EU citizens. Each year it issues a report on the state of play and these are some edited highlights from the document.

THE Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) provides climate monitoring for the globe, Europe and the Arctic, and annually releases the European State of the Climate (ESOTC) report.

Their report for 2022 includes a short overview of the global context, a more comprehensive overview of Europe, and a focus on the Arctic.

The report provides a detailed analysis of the past calendar year, with descriptions of climate conditions and events, and explores the associated variations in key climate variables from all parts of the Earth system.

The climate picture Globally, the last eight years have been the warmest on record, and 2022 was the fifth warmest year on record. Several regions of the globe saw record-breaking tempera-tures.

In Europe, summer was the warmest on record, at 1.4°C above average, and 0.3–0.4°C above the previous warmest summer, in 2021. Most of western Europe saw heatwave conditions and temperatures in the United Kingdom reached above 40°C for the first time. The average sea surface temperature across Europe’s seas was the warmest on record.

The higher-than-average temperatures and a persistent lack of precipitation triggered a significant drought which, at its peak, affected most of Europe.

36 Education

There was also record loss of ice from glaciers in the Alps, equivalent to 5 km3 of ice, or an average depth across the glaciers of more than 3.5 m of ice.

T h e h i g h te m p e r a t u r e s a n d drought also facilitated the spread and intensification of large fires, resulting in the year as a whole seeing the second highest burnt area on record across the EU countries.

Both polar regions also experienced unusually warm conditions in 2022. Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest minimum extent on record in February. Later in the year, the Greenland ice sheet saw record melt, with at least 23% of its area impacted during one of three heatwaves in September.

The Global picture Surface temperature Globally, the last eight years were the warmest on record, although 2022 was one of the cooler of these.

Despite this, 2022 was the warmest year on record for several regions of the globe, including much of western Europe, parts of northwestern Africa, the Horn of Africa, central Asia and China, and much of the south Pacific.

The most-below-average temperatures over land were in southeastern Australia and central Canada.

Greenhouse gases Atmospheric concentrations of the green-house gases carbon dioxide and methane continued to increase, reaching record levels, and were their highest in at least hundreds of thousands of years.

The year-on-year increase in methane was significantly higher than the average of the last ten years, but not as high as the record levels seen in 2020 and 2021.

"Atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane continued to increase, reaching record levels, and were Sea surface temperature their highest in Global average sea surat least face temperature (SST) was hundreds of the sixth warmest on record, and thousands of 2022 marked the third year with La years" Niña conditions present. This meant that it was cooler than some recent y e a r s . S i n c e 1 8 5 0 , S S Ts h a v e increased by 0.9°C, but the rate of increase varies regionally. Among the fastest warming areas are parts of the Arctic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and parts of the extratropical Pacific.

Glaciers Glaciers continued to lose mass at high rates and are estimated to currently contribute more than 1 mm per year to mean global sea level rise. A large reduction in glacier mass was observed across the globe, with only glaciers in southwestern Scandinavia showing a small gain in mass.

Globe

Europe

Arctic Climate stripes from ERA5, 1950–2022

Sea ice Sea ice extent in the Arctic remained slightly below average throughout the year.

Antarctic sea ice extent reached its lowest minimum extent on record in February, with another five months seeing near-record low extent.

Climate stripes from ERA5, 1950–2022 For Amore information www.showyourstripes.info average.

May was the driest month, warm than cool events. long-term trend towards higher surface air temperatures continues.

with 21–28% less precipitation

River discharge "The summer For 10 months of the year, Lake & sea temperatures temperature for river discharge was below Europe’s lakes and seas Europe was the average, the second lowest on record are seeing increasing surhighest on face temperatures. The average sea across Europe, marking the sixth record. 2022 was the second surface temperature (SST) across consecutive year of below-average Sea level Europe’s seas was the warmest on flows. In the area affected, it was the warmest year driest year on record, with 63% of Data available for the first record in 2022. on record for Atmospheric concentrations of the greenGlobal average sea temperature rivers surface seeing below-average flows. six months of the year show Europe, at 0.9°C In March, flows were the lowest on a continuing rise in global mean sea warmer than Precipitation house gasesa new carbon dioxideaverage" and methaneA lack of (SST) was the sixthrecord, warmest and althoughon Aprilrecord, saw the most level, reaching record high. precipitation highwith river flows, with contributed 2022 to widespread continued to increase, reaching record marked thewidespread third year La Niña The European picture drought conditions. The year as a 54% of the river network having levels, and were their highest in at least present.

This meant that it was river discharge. whole was asconditions much as 10% drier than above-average Europe temperature hundreds thousands of years. The cooler than some recent years. Since 1850, The summerof temperature for Europe was theincrease highest year-on-year in methane was SSTs have increased by 0.9°C, but the rate on record. 2022 was the second warmest year onhigher record for Europe, significantly than the average of the of increase varies regionally. Among the at 0.9°C warmer than average. For "A lack of last tencountries years,inbut not as high as the record fastest warming areas are parts of the many southwestern precipitation Europe, the year was the warmest on contributed to levels seen in 2020 and 2021.

Arctic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, record. widespread The most-above-average tem- drought and parts of the extra-tropical Pacific. peratures occurred in northeastern conditions" Scandinavia and those countries bordering the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Winter, summer and autumn were all warmer than average, andARCTIC spring THE ABOUT EUROPE TRENDS IN BEYOND was slightly cooler than average, by IN 2022 THE REPORT IN 2022 CLIMATE INDICATORS THE ESOTC 0.1–0.2°C. Summer was the warm-est on record, at 1.4°C above average, and 0.3–0.4°C above the previous Monthly average river discharge anomalies for August 2022, relative to the 1991– warmest summer, in 2021. The year 2020 reference period. Rivers with drainage areas greater than 1000 km2 are shown. Data source: EFAS. Credit: Copernicus EMS/ECMWF. was characterised by many more

Greenhouse gases

Sea surface temperature

Education 37

A secure platform to manage school admissions MIT are a trusted partner of schools and colleges in Ireland for over 15 years and are part of the Department of Education Framework to provide all schools and colleges in Ireland with an Online Payments Platform.

AS an Education Technology company, MIT Education Solutions have been working with schools and colleges in Ireland for over 15 years.

We are a trusted partner to over 200+ Education institutes, providing them with best-of-breed business & technology solutions specifically designed for the Education sector.

Our flagship product, eNROL™ the MIT Online Enrolment & Admissions Management Platform, has been in use by schools and colleges in Ireland for 15 years and is the market leader in this sector.

Our product portfolio includes: • Education Technology Consulting • Admissions Management • Student Management • Payment Solutions • Learning Management Platform for College Staff members • Cyber Security Services for Education MIT are part of the Department of Education Procurement Framework to provide all schools in Ireland with a Payments Platform. This was a European tender and MIT were awarded the tender based on the features, functionality, and importantly, the security of the platform.

Our Payments Platform has passed all of the stringent EU procurement tests to ensure a college using our platform is compliant with all Irish and International laws pertaining to 38 Education

Online Payments data protection and security, which ensures and guarantees the reputation of your College.

The system has been audited and vetted to the highest standards for security and functionality, so you know your data is safe and secure. eNROL™ – Admissions Management for Second Level Schools Since the introduction of the Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018, school management have been looking to MIT to provide them with a secure, robust, reliable, and efficient Online Enrolment and Admissions Management Platform.

The Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 and the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 place a duty on all recognised schools to prepare and publish an Admission Policy.

The Education Act 1998 provides for an appeal process in the event of a refusal to admit a student.

Therefore, it is important for schools to record and retain an audit trail of all applications and the criteria under which places are offered.

The MIT Admissions platform, designed in partnership with Second Level schools, adheres to the strict requirements of the Act, and ensures your school or college remains compliant, while providing an easy-to-use applications process and online form for parents and guardians.

Online Application Parents can apply online using a computer, laptop, or smart phone based on your schools unique admissions criteria and according to your admissions policy. They can upload the requisite documentation and make payment (where required) all via a responsive modern User Interface.

"The MIT Admissions system has made a huge difference to Communications Management how we manage The comprehensive communicaour college. tions module allows the school to It's a very user communicate electronically with friendly and parents via email, SMS, and in-syshighly timetem, while providing you with a effective tool for robust audit trail and reporting sysany School. tem. Parents will receive electronic "I would notifications to keep them updated especially like to during the entire process and will be thank the MIT able to respond directly to Accept (or support team refuse) their place. for always being so supportive Offer Management and for always All applications are automatically listening to our filtered against the specific school feedback." admissions criteria such as catchAdministration ment area, siblings in the school, or Team, feeder schools attended for instance, Adamstown making it easy for your admissions Community team to be able to sort and make College offers based on the key selection criteria.

Over-Subscription Where a school is oversubscribed and receives more applications than

places, the MIT Admissions platform allows you to manage your offers and waiting lists efficiently.

All applications received before the closing date are identified and each application is date & time stamped for reporting purposes. In the event of a tie in the selection process, the system contains a secure, industrystandard random list generator where a school wishes to run a lottery-based system.

Online Payments Because MIT are on the Department Framework Agreement to provide all schools with secure payment solutions, our integrated Payments Platform allows parents to make online payments securely during the admissions process, where required.

Reporting & Audit Trail The eNROL™ Platform provides you with a full audit trail and reporting module to record all communications and decisions, making it a simple task to generate reports in the event of any queries.

The system saves a school weeks of manual work, and ensures your school is compliant with all parts of the Education Act, including prepara-

tion for any Section 29 Appeals.

Integration with MIS Our systems integrate with the major Student Information Systems (SIS) in Irish schools and all applications data can be easily imported from the MIT system into your school management database negating the requirement to re-input the data.

Training & Support Services MIT provide a ‘turnkey’ solution where we work with you at all stages to ensure you get the most from your systems. From initial consultation to deployment, staff training, and ongoing operational support our qualified team are here to assist you all the way.

Contact Details If you would like to learn more about the MIT eNROL™ Online Enrolment & Admissions Management Platform, please contact us directly via email on sales@ mit.ie or by calling our offices on 051 834150 for a review of your specific requirements in relation to Admissions Management.

Contact: Seamus Morris Tel: 086 1537747 Website: www.mit.ie

Education Technology Solutions We provide education technology solutions to help schools and colleges accelerate their digital transformation.

■ Online Enrolment ■ Admissions Management ■ Interview Management ■ Communications Management ■ Document Upload & Management ■ Online Payments ■ Exams & Assessments Management ■ Analysis & Reporting Dashboards

Tel: 086 1537747 Website: www.mit.ie

Education 39

A career in getting things moving ORGANISING, co-ordinating, managing, and moving goods is what logistics and supply chains are all about. They involve planning, implementing, and controlling the movement of products and information.

Logistics and supply chains are integral to every industry in the world and operate around the clock facilitating international and domestic trade in all sectors of the economy.

The industry offers a wide variety of career paths, including operational roles e.g.: picking orders in a warehouse or driving heavy goods vehicles, and management and supervisory roles primarily based in the office that involve developing and implementing logistics plans,

40 Education

analyses, and optimisation of logistics frameworks.

In addition to competitive salaries, logistics and supply chain careers offer opportunities for advancement, and career growth as well as opportunities for international travel.

Critical thinking and problemsolving skills are vital for anyone looking to pursue a career in this vibrant and fast-paced industry.

Earn as you learn The ‘Earn as you learn’ Logistics Associate Apprenticeship (LAA) offers career and education options for school graduates and mature students who prefer paid, on-the-job training while studying for a qualification over a full-time college course.

"There are currently 118 companies registered with the programme that offer placements throughout Ireland, representing manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, shipping, and freight forwarding sectors"

There are currently 118 companies registered with the programme that offer placements throughout Ireland, representing manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, shipping, and freight forwarding sectors and 375 apprentices have been enrolled since the program was launched in 2018.

How does the logistics apprenticeship work?

The LAA is a two-year programme providing academic education and practical on-the-job training across the logistics industries.

Apprentices enter a contract of 2 years duration, where they will work on a full-time basis with an employer while being paid a salary and spend one day a week with MTU in Cork or TU Dublin for their academic studies.

Successful completion of this program will lead to a QQI Level 6 Award on the NFQ - Higher Certificate in Logistics.

From that point, there are many routes of progression into Level 7 and even Level 8-degree courses which is one of many key strengths of this programme. Throughout the apprenticeship journey, apprentices acquire the knowledge, skills, and competencies to carry out the core tasks and responsibilities within the logistics sector and upon completion of the program are fully equipped to progress into professional employment. As part of the programme apprentices complete a work-based project in year 2, which will help them to develop their analytical and problem-solving skills, and which will

Testimonials from Logistics Apprentices: Sarah Ryan

Shane Buckley

My interest in logistics attracted me to the Logistics Associate Apprenticeship.

I decided to Join the Logistics Associate Apprenticeship as I wanted to further my career in the logistics world, and I thought that the apprenticeship would be the best way to do it.

Logistic Apprentice, Hamilton Shipping

The best part of the apprenticeship is working with industry experts who provide mentoring throughout the programme.

As part of my role, I am responsible for Imports and exports in both air and sea freight, and I'm gaining vast experience as I learn more about these aspects of freight forwarding.

also directly benefit the employing organisations. In addition to project work, the apprentices complete a variety of industry modules developed by the LAA consortium throughout program, which are then assessed to achieve certification.

For those seeking a career in this field, an apprenticeship is undoubtedly an attrac tive option. The apprentice gets an overview of the profession, gains practical work experience, and acquires the necessary qualifications while earning a salary..

The Logistics Associate Apprenticeship is a great way to earn while you learn, gain work experience, and get to experience life at a college at the same time.

Anyone considering a career in logistics should consider this apprenticeship.

Logistics & Supply Chain Apprentice. DPD lreland

Kevin Casey

Logistics Apprentice, DSV As a Working professional, I decided that the Apprenticeship would be the best way for rne to broaden my knowledge, enhance my skills, and earn a qualification in logistics that will benefit both my career development and my employer.

The apprenticeship is a great way to learn and obtain an Industry qualification while earning a salary at the same time.

Throughout my apprenticeship journey, my employer has been very supportive and encouraging. Being able to attend college one day a week during working hours, and being reimbursed for my annual college registration fees by my employer, has given me a sense of great value as an employee.

Anyone who wants to advance a career in logistics should consider this programme and I highly recommend it.

The programme provides apprentices the opportunity to develop their skills, learn about the industry, and put what they have learned in college into practice in their workplace.

I highly recommend the Logistics Associate Apprenticeship programme to both future candidates and logistics companies.

What are the Apprentiechip entry requirements?

• H7/O6 or above in five leaving certificate (or equivalent) subjects. A minimum of grade O6 must be obtained in English. A minimum of grade O6 or a B2 or above in Foundation level must be obtained in mathematics • Holders of a QQI Level 5 or Level 6 (or equivalent) in cognate areas • Applicants may also be eligible to become apprentices via Recognition of Prior Learning Interested in applying for the apprenticeship?

The next apprenticeship intake will take place in September 2024, and employers will begin their recruitment drives soon.

The first step toward becoming an apprentice is to register your interest at www.laa.ie or to contact us by email: info@laa.ie Upon registering, you will receive an information pack containing tips on finding job placement and a list of registered companies as well as email notifications of apprenticeship position openings.

More information can be found at www.laa.ie Education 41

42 Education

IRISH DEFENCE FORCES GENERAL SERVICE BREAKING NEWS

re new age requirements for General Service Recruitment into the Irish Defence Forces for Army Recruit Naval Service Recruit Air Corps Recruit

Irish Defence Forces General Service

must not be less than 18 years of age and under 29 years of age at the time of application. The sh Defence Forces recruit Army, Air Corps, and Naval Service recruits all year round.

rigade

lway

merick

ork

kenny

WHERE ARE OUR UNITS LOCATED? ARMY UNITS 2 Brigade

Breaking News...

AIR CORPS UNITS DFTC

Dublin

There requirements for General Service Recruitment into the Dublinare new age (Defence Forces TrainDefence Forces for ing Irish Centre) Louth Army Recruit | Naval Service Recruit | Air Corps Recruit

Kildare NAVAL SERVICE UNITS Meath Applicants must not be less than 18 years of age and under 29 years Corkof age at the time of application.

Westmeath The Irish Defence Forces recruit Army, Air Corps, and Naval Service recruits all year round.

Donegal

Where are our units located?

ARMY UNITS 1 Brigade Galway Limerick Cork Kilkenny

2 Brigade Dublin Louth Meath Westmeath Donegal

DFTC (Defence Forces Training Centre) Kildare AIR CORPS UNITS Dublin NAVAL SERVICE UNITS Cork

Education 43

Application Process APPLICATION PROCESS APPLICATION PROCESS

RECRUIT TRAINING OVERVIEW Recruit Training Overview

The Recruit Training syllabus is designed to produce physically fit, disciplined and motivated Two Star Privates, Naval Service Able Rates, and Air Corps Airwomen/ Airmen, with basic military skills. Recruit TRAINING THE Recruit syllabus is designed to proIt isOVERVIEW approximately 12 weeks in duration.

On suctraining is theTraining foundation of allRECRUIT military training.

It is approximately 12 weeks in duration.

On successful Thephysically Recruit Training syllabus and is designed to produce physically fit,adisciplined and motivated Twoin Star duce fit, disciplined motivated Twowillcessful completion of 12 Recruit Training, the trained completion of Recruit Training, the trained Recruit then take on further weeks of training their Star Privates, Naval Service Able Rates, and Air Recruit will then take on a further 12 weeks of trainPrivates, Naval Service Able Rates, and Air Corps Airwomen/ Airmen, with basic military skills.

Recruit respective service. This training will be specific to their chosen service. Recruit training is broken down Corps Airwomen/ Airmen, of with military skills. ing in their respective This On training will be training is the foundation all basic military training.

It isphases; approximately 12 weeksservice. in duration. successful into four Recruit training is theTraining, foundation of all military to on their chosen12service.

Recruit training completion of Recruit the trained Recruit willspecific then take a further weeks of training in theiris 2. Introductory Training 3. Tactical Training 4. Final Training training. broken down into four phases: respective 1.

Inductionservice.

Period This training will be specific to their chosen service. Recruit training is broken down Period into four phases; Period Period

1. Induction Period

1. Induction Period

44 Education

2. Introductory Training 2. Introductory Training Period Period

3. Tactical Training Period

4. Final Training Period

3. Tactical Training

4. Final Training

Period

Period

Why join the Defence Forces?

Pay Rate Salaries progress on an incremental scale to a maximum point for each rank Recruit on completion of basic training; €37,147

Physical Supports We value the health and wellbeing of our Army, Naval Service and Air Corps personnel. All members of the Permanent Defence Forces have access to Medical and Dental care as well as Pharmacy and Physiotherapy services

Fitness Training & Sports Facilities We must be fit to fight.

We have state of the art fitness training facilities.

Our PT staff are trained to the highest levels to maintain a fit fighting force.

20+ Sports Teams & Clubs (including international soccer & boxing)

Annual Leave

Overseas Service

Our troops have kept peace in over 200 countries worldwide since 1958.

Tax Free Overseas Duty Allowance which starts at €15,000

Public Holidays Defence Forces Holidays Paid Sick leave Study leave Special leave on return from overseas missions Fully paid statutory leave such as Adoptive, Maternity & Paternity Leave 28 days minimum Annual Leave

Visit our careers page to learn more information by scanning the QR code below Education 45

46 Education

New leadership appointments in Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) has made significant announcements regarding key appointments in its educational institutions, signalling a new era of growth and development in the region's further education and training (FET) sector.

Portlaoise Institute, a well-established provider of adult and further education, is excited to announce the appointment of Mr Keith McClearn as its new principal. This represents a significant milestone as Portlaoise Institute will now have its own dedicated principal, having previously been under the umbrella of Portlaoise College.

Hailing from Galway, Mr McClearn brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role. His background includes serving as the Deputy Principal of both Portlaoise College and Portlaoise Institute. He holds qualifications from esteemed institutions such as NUI Galway, Sheffield Hallam University, and Trinity College, and is currently purs u i n g a P h . D. i n E d u c a t i o n a l Leadership at Dublin City University.

Exciting plans In expressing his enthusiasm for the role, Keith McClearn stated, "It is truly an honour to be appointed Principal of Portlaoise Institute. I have every confidence that, with the support of our team of progressive and enthusiastic teaching and support staff, Portlaoise Institute will be a hub of excellence and a leader in the provision of further education and training in the region.”

“I am looking forward to taking up the position and have exciting plans for Portlaoise Institute."

The institute currently offers fulltime Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) to over 260 learners, and a wide range of evening provision. In 2023, it will expand its programme offerings to include Apprenticeships, Traineeships, and various part-time options.

This expansion aligns with the Institute's commitment to delivering flexible and responsive further education and training courses to meet the needs of its diverse student body.

For more information on Portlaoise Institute's provision for 2023 visit www.portlaoiseinstitute.ie Irene Togher

Anne Marie Keane, FET Manager with LOETB, expressed her delight at Mr. McClearn's appointment, highlighting his learner-centred approach and extensive experience as assets that will drive Portlaoise Institute’s growth.

Tony Dalton, LOETB Director of Johnathan O'Brien FET, echoed this sentiment and the importance of this appointment in establishing Portlaoise Institute as a key FET provider in the region.

In another exciting development within LOETB, Ms Irene Togher has been appointed as the Principal and Jonathan O'Brien as the Deputy Principal of the Tullamore Further Education and Training Centre (FETC).

"With the Irene Togher, who previously support of our worked at Dunboyne College of team of progressive and Further Education for twelve years, brings a wealth of experience and enthusiastic expertise to her new role. Her qualiteaching and fications include an English and Legal support staff, Studies BA, a Law Degree, and a MA Portlaoise Institute will be in Media Studies. a hub of Dynamic and dedicated team excellence" In expressing her delight at her appointment Irene said, ‘I look forward to supporting the dynamic and dedicated team, staff and students of Tullamore FETC. Ms. Togher envisions a bright future for the centre, marked by high-quality education and diverse progression opportunities.

Irene is joined at senior management level by Jonathan O’Brien, the newly appointed Deputy Principal.

Jonathan has been a member of the teaching team at Tullamore FETC for the past eight years. He holds qualifications in Business Computing and

Keith McClearn

recently completed a MA in Teaching and Learning. Jonathan is driven by a passion for lifelong learning and aims to contribute to the centre's mission of providing educational opportunities not only to the local community but also to wider audiences.

Tony Dalton, Director of Further Education and Training, remarked that: “these appointments represent a s ignific ant s te p forward for Tullamore FETC".

"I am confident that under Irene’s leadership, Tullamore FETC will flourish as a centre of excellence in education and training. Jonathan O'Brien's appointment as Deputy Principal is equally exciting. Jonathan has a longstanding commitment to Tullamore FETC and I have no doubt that he will play a pivotal role in shaping the educational landscape of Tullamore FETC.” “Their combined leadership will undoubtedly bring fresh perspectives, innovation, and growth to Tullamore FETC. I have every confidence that, together with our committed staff, they will lead Tullamore FETC as a FET College of the Future.”

Post Leaving Certificate Courses Tullamore FET Centre has experienced substantial growth, offering 17 full-time Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) programmes this academic year, alongside a wide range of parttime courses during both day and evening hours.

The centre’s commitment to accessibility and excellence in education is evident, with up-to-date course information available on their website www.tullamorefetc.ie.

These appointments within LOETB signal a commitment to excellence and a dedication to providing highquality educational opportunities to students in the region, setting the stage for continued growth and success in the field of further education and training.

Education 47

STAY LOCAL

GO FAR

Visit wwetb.ie 48 Education

Platinum Partner - Revolutionary Technology Reduce your carbon footprint and energy costs by up to 80% with Heat Free Printing Technology

E M S C o p i e r s a re d e l i g h te d to announce that we have been appointed a Platinum Partner with EPSON for the supply of their unique range of business Muti-Function Printers. We are the only company to have this status with EPSON in the Republic of Ireland along with just three other companies in the UK. This is a result of a fantastic relationship we have established in just two years. A revolutionary new product has just been launched by the EPSON Corporation, a business Multi-Function Printer (MFP) that does not use a heat-based process to copy and print.

Big differences You may ask what difference this makes, and the answer is an enormous amount actually!

The EPSON business inkjet MFP will give you the following benefits: • It will reduce your energy bills on printing and copying, in many cases this will save ‘000s of euro over the lifespan of the device.

• Dramatically reduce your carbon footprint by up to 80% or more.

• It will make your staff more productive as the heat-free device does not have to warm up, in many cases you can wait for up to 30 seconds and more for a copier to be ready to use (this is the device heating up!). The EPSON unit is printing in seconds every time.

• Your EPSON MFP will be more reliable as it uses far fewer moving parts it does not use: o Drums and developer o Fuser Units o Transfer Belts • To name a few components. Put simply there are much fewer components to malfunction.

Fewer jams We mentioned the heat free element earlier, this ensures less jams.

We have all found ourselves elbow deep in an MFP trying to extract a paper jam from the fuser unit. Every school secretary has experienced this. (Be careful when doing this, they can be very hot and are easily damaged if you poke at them, which you need to do to clear the jam). This is because the MFP super heats the paper it is printing on. This in turn leads the paper to curl, just a little bit, which is enough for the paper to jam.

AN EPSON MFP uses inkjet technology so no heat to produce a copy or print, no curling paper and less jams.

Specialist software IN addition, EPSON deploys groundbreaking specialist software that enables your staff to send a print job to a centralized device without the job printing before they are physically at the unit. This eliminates waste paper, helps ensure GDPR compliance with no unclaimed potentially sensitive print jobs on the device and enables you to decommission expensive to use personal printers.

This software also produces regular reports that confirm usage across all devices per user, so school management will know what was printed and by whom. Finally print quota and allowances can be applied to enable the school to restrict any inadvertent colour printing.

EMS has serviced the needs of Irish schools since 1970. In that time we have developed an unique insight into what a school needs from a Managed Print Supplier. Durable yet easy to use hardware (keeps the staff happy) combined with cost effective solutions as outlined above (keeps the board happy)

tive tool that can define the exact extent of how much your school can "EPSON has benefit from HEAT FREE printing, developed an clearly illustrating the reduction in innovative tool electricity costs, carbon footprint and that can define productivity. the exact extent By undertaking a 20-minute review of how much of your existing equipment and usage your school can we can generate a report that will benefit from clearly quantify how your school can HEAT FREE benefit from using this technology printing, clearly There is no obligation on you to act illustrating the upon the recommendations of this reduction in report, but you will be fully appraised electricity of just how much your school, no costs, carbon matter its’ size, can have make a footprint and meaningful contribution to reducing productivity" global warming, and reduce costs.

www.emscopiers.ie E: sales@emscopiers.ie T:01 9018386

Rental based bundles EMS has a series of rental based bundles which mean that you can avail yourself of the benefits we have outlined above without any capital outlay, and in many cases this rental cost can be greatly offset by the savings you can generate.

EPSON has developed an innovaEducation 49

Could you write an award-winning film, television drama, feature documentary or animated series?

Develop your writing skills with this fast-paced creative practice programme. Work with industry professionals. Learn from American Film Institute Los Angeles & the New York Film Academy alumni.

“This is the creative environment I craved when starting out. A safe place to explore, develop and get my stories industry ready”.

Gerard Barrett

Galway Film Fleadh Bingham Ray New Talent Winner “Pilgrim Hill” Galway Film Fleadh Best Irish Feature Winner “Glassland”

September 2024

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT FOR FILM & TELEVISION

An all-new full-time programme, unique to Kerry College.

40 weeks. 14 places. No Fees.

Wait-list now open.

Apply now: www.kerrycollege.ie 50 Education

Kerry College announce new Screenwriting Programme with support of Ifta KERRY COLLEGE has announced an all-new Screenwriting programme entitled ‘Content Development for Film & Television’ CONTENT Development for Film & Television is a full-time 40-week creative practice course that aims to nurture the next generation of storytellers, providing an immersive experience in the art of developing screenplays for film, scripted television, and documentaries.

The course is for individuals who want to pursue professional careers as a Screenwriter, Director, Producer or in other creative roles across the global Film & Television industry.

I F TA W i n n i n g D i r e c t o r / Screenwriter/Producer Gerard Barrett developed this new programme with Kerry College to address the ongoing demand for original creative content for screen media, but also to give aspiring makers a space to incubate, develop and refine their creative concepts and to teach the creative skillsets and disciplines that are needed to make it in the industry.

The course instructors Director/ Producer Maurice Sweeney and Actor/Director/Producer Pat Shortt, in addition to American Film Institute Los Angeles & the New York Film Academy alumni. The course learners

will also be mentored by working industry professionals.

One of the most exciting aspects of this course is the exclusive opportunity it affords participants to present their fully developed projects to industry professionals, including producers, studios, commissioners, and broadcasters.

Limited places Content Development for Film & Television runs at the Digital Skills Centre Studios and the waitlist for the September 2024 course is currently live.

No registration fees, tuition fees, examination fees, or certification fees are payable as the programme is fully funded. Applicants may be eligible for a learner training allowance.

Places are offered following a recruitment interview and are limited to 14 only.

For more information on the course, to get a call-back from the course instructors, contact Kerry College Admissions Office by telephone on 066 714 96 96 or by email: info@kerrycollege.ie

Minimum entry criteria apply and full details are available here: kerrycollege.ie/fulltime-courses/content-development-for-film-tv/

Director/Screenwriter/Producer Gerard Barrett: "This is a safe haven to create, write, and develop your film and television projects, hand in hand with the industry. Whether that is film, scripted television, animation, or documentary. This is exactly what I would have wanted when starting out. It was such a privilege to be asked to develop this course with Kerry College and it shows their progressive approach to growing creative opportunity in the region."

CEO of IFTA, Áine Moriarty said: "It’s very exciting to see this dynamic Content Development course open its doors, giving participants an unprecedented level of access to knowledge & skills from such a wide range of leading industry professionals.

"Congratulations to Gerard and the whole team at Kerry College. IFTA is delighted to lend its support to such a unique and innovative handson learning approach, and we look forward to supporting more of these initiatives in the future.”

Education 51

A New Year of Opportunities: Join us at Sallynoggin College of Further Education Unlocking Opportunities: Fees waived for 2023-2024 in SCFE IN RESPONSE to the increasing cost of living, DDLETB announced in June that fees would be waived for the upcoming academic year 2023-2024.

DDLETB and Sallynoggin College of Further Education (SCFE) are taking significant steps to make education more affordable.

We're reducing fees for students undertaking a Post Leaving Cert (PLC) course, with the exception of a nominal registration fee of €40.

Opening Doors to Educational Opportunities We firmly believe that education should be within reach for every student, regardless of their financial circumstances. This initiative will make education more affordable for all. It presents an excellent opportunity to engage in hands-on learning, acquire practical skills, and lay the foundation for a brighter future.

Freshers Day in SCFE We were delighted to see our students getting to know each other at

F r e s h e r s ’ D a y i n t h e c o l l e ge .

Students enjoyed breakfast rolls and ice cream cones and took part in Bingo, a scavenger hunt and fun was had by all involved.

New Course launched in September 2023 In September, we launched a new course, "Special Needs Assisting and Intellectual Disability Studies." This course is tailored for students interested in pursuing a career as a Special Needs Assistant (SNA) in primary or post-primary schools, or other care settings. Our one-year QQI Level 5 course in Intellectual Disability Practice (5M1761) equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary for this rewarding role.

Students who complete the Level 5 course have the option to progress to a the QQI Level 6 course, "Advanced Training in Special Needs Assisting and Inclusion" within Sallynoggin College of Further Education. The course also offers

Students enjoying Freshers' Day

52 Education

Learning about Equine Therapy

"We invite you to explore our newly revamped website at www.scfe.ie for more information on the courses and opportunities awaiting your students at Sallynoggin College of Further Education"

excellent links to progression at degree level.

The Level 5 program covers a wide range of essential topics, from the fundamentals of special needs assistance to understanding various types of special needs and the strategies to enhance individuals' lives. Work experience in schools and childcare settings is a cornerstone, providing first hand exposure. We emphasize community inclusion, empowerment, effective facilitation of learning, and communication skills vital for meaningful connections.

Moreover, practical learning is at the core of our program. Students gain hands-on experience as Special Needs Assistants, participate in educational field trips, attend specialized workshops, and learn from guest speakers. They also receive accredited training in Lámh Sign Language, occupational first aid certification, and a manual handling certificate. We ensure students are not only knowledgeable but also well-prepared for their future roles.

Second Year of the National Hairdressing Programme In November we look forward to welcoming our second intake for the National Hairdressing Apprenticeship programme in SCFE. For students with a passion for hairstyling, the three-year National Hairdressing Programme is an excellent choice. It caters to school leavers with a Leaving Certificate, early school leavers with salon experience, or mature applicants seeking a career change. This program offers an opportunity to excel in the dynamic field of hairdressing.

Suzanne Kiely, NHA National Programme Co-ordinator, emphasizes, "The National Hairdressing Apprenticeship is a game-changer for the Irish industry. It sets the national standard for hairdressers and is an innovative employer-led initiative that aligns with the current needs of the hairdressing industry."

For our students progressing to second year, they will focus on Customer Service, Retail Styling and Finishing, Advanced Color and Cutting techniques, and Team Leadership skills.

Check out Our Updated Website We invite you to explore our newly revamped website at www.scfe.ie for more information on the courses and opportunities awaiting your students at Sallynoggin College of Further Education.

Our Course Coordinators are available to answer specific questions about individual courses, and their contact details are listed on each course page.

Apply online at www.scfe.ie or contact Reception@scfe.ie Tel: 01 285 2997.

We also invite you to come and visit us on our next Open Day on 17th January 2024 and we are always delighted to welcome school group visits by appointment.

Student Field Trip to ChildVision

S A L LY N OGGI N C OL L E GE OF F URTHER E DUC ATI ON

SALLYNOGGIN | DÚN LAOGHAIRE | CO. DUBLIN

YOUR

Courses Commence Sept 2024

2023-24

Apply online www.scfe.ie

NO COURSE FEES FROM SEPT 2023

Check us out @ www.scfe.ie

FREE STUDENT PARKING

CERTIFICATE AND DIPLOMA COURSES • NO CAO POINTS REQUIRED ART, CRAFT & DESIGN (PORTFOLIO PREPARATION) ADVANCED ART - LEVEL 6 (3 DAYS)

OPEN DAY

PROFESSIONAL FLORISTRY FASHION DESIGN FASHION BUYING, STYLING & VISUAL MERCHANDISING ADVANCED FASHION DESIGN

WED 17th JAN 2024

10am - 2pm All Welcome

HAIRDRESSING & BEAUTY THERAPIES HAIRDRESSING APPRENTICESHIP

COLÁISTE BREISOIDEACHAIS AN NAIGÍN

PERFORMING ARTS/ACTING FOR THEATRE, TV & FILM MUSICAL THEATRE AND DANCE

All coursesSlead A L LY N Odirectly G G I N C O L L E to GE F U RT H E R E D U C AT I O N employment orO Fprogression to SALLYNOGGIN | DÚN LAOGHAIRE | CO. DUBLIN NAIGÍN | DHÚNin LAOGHAIRE | CO. ÁTHA CLIATH degreeANcourses Universities and Higher Education Institutes COLÁISTE BREISOIDEACHAIS NAIGÍN All courses recognisedANfor SUSI grant Funding available S A L LY N O Gfor G I N Social COLLEGE O F F U RT H E R E D U C AT I O N WelfareSALLYNOGGIN recipients and exemptions | DÚN LAOGHAIRE | CO. DUBLIN for Medical Card holders

EARLY LEARNING AND CARE ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN EARLY LEARNING AND CARE SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTING AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY STUDIES ADVANCED TRAINING IN SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTING & INCLUSION PERSONAL TRAINER/ SPORTS REHABILITATION/ PHYSIOTHERAPY ASSISTANT/ STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING/SPORTS MASSAGE THERAPIST FITNESS INSTRUCTION AND EXERCISE SCIENCE PHYSICAL EDUCATION & SPORTS COACHING

COLÁISTE BREISOIDEACHAIS AN NAIGÍN

YOGA & PILATES TEACHER TRAINING

S A L LY N O G G I N C O L L E G E O F F U RT H E R E D U C AT I O N

AIRLINE AND TRAVEL INDUSTRY STUDIES HOSPITALITY, TOURISM AND EVENT MANAGEMENT

Hairdressing Apprentices in SCFE

SOCIAL STUDIES INCLUDING CRIMINOLOGY & ADDICTION STUDIES ADVANCED SOCIAL STUDIES INCLUDING ADVOCACY CRIMINOLOGY INCLUDING LEGAL STUDIES YOUTH WORK AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

SALLYNOGGIN | DÚN LAOGHAIRE | CO. DUBLIN

Sallynoggin College of Further Education is a Constituent College of Dublin & Dún Laoghaire Education & Training Board

www.scfe.ie

Education 53

Services at Carlow ETB TRAINING Services at Kilkenny and Carlow ETB offer an extensive range of free full time training programmes for young people and adults who wish to develop the skills and competencies that are required for the workplace and/or progression to further education and training opportunities.

All of our courses lead to nationally and internationally industry recognised accreditation. Furthermore, many of our courses lead directly into employment.

Traineeships A Traineeship is an occupational skills development programme which is designed to provide flexible training solutions to the identified needs of Irish industry and local businesses.

Traineeships gives participants the opportunity to develop cutting edge skills and knowledge on-the-job, making them more skilled, more employable and enhancing their career options and enables employers to access a pipeline of talent and learners.

Traineeships are structured learning programmes which lead to awards at NFQ levels 4-6. They are between 6-20 months in duration and learners will complete at least 30% of learning on the job.

For further information visit www.traineeship.ie 54 Education

Generation Apprenticeships The SOL A S Standards Based Apprenticeship is a system of employment focused training and education which enables an individual to obtain the knowledge, skills and competencies required to perform effectively as a craft person in industry.

It also enables the individual to progress through further education and training within the national framework of qualifications leading to a QQI level 6 Advanced Craft Certificate.

Apprenticeship has long been an accelerator for individual and corporate development in Ireland.

Generation Apprenticeship is a major expansion project to more than double the number of learners of all ages and backgrounds taking the apprenticeship route.

This promises to be a huge source of inspiration in opening apprenticeship into a full range of twenty-first century industries and skill sets.

SOLAS has the responsibility for promoting and overseeing the training and education of all the apprentices in the current 27 designated crafts.

A national standard is delivered for each craft based on the occupational analysis of that craft, written as key learning outcomes and structured in modular format.

New Apprenticeships will combine practical on-the-job learning in com-

The 26 designated crafts are as follows: "All of our courses lead to nationally and internationally industry recognised accreditation.

Furthermore, many of our courses lead directly into employment"

• Agricultural Mechanics * • Aircraft Mechanics * • Brick and Stonelaying • Carpentry & Joinery • Construction Plant Fitting * • Electrical * • Electrical Instrumentation * • Electronic Security Systems * • Farriery • Heavy Vehicle Mechanics * • Industrial Insulation • Instrumentation * • Metal Fabrication • Motor Mechanics* • Painting & Decorating * • Pipefitting • Plastering • Plumbing * • Print Media * • Refrigeration & Air Conditioning * • Stonecutting & Stonemasonry • Sheet Metalworking • Toolmaking • Vehicle Body Repairs * • Wood Manufacturing and Finishing • Mechanical Automation and Maintenance - MAMF * * A person wishing to become an apprentice in one of the trades marked * must pass a colour– vision test approved by SOLAS.

In Training Services we run traineeships in the following areas

Culinary Skills

Engineering

Hospitality

Professional Bus and Coach Driving

Professional HGV Driving traineeship

Van Delivery Driver

Healthcare Assistant

Office Administration

panies, with off-the-job training, which will be delivered by the ETBs and/ or recognised training and education providers.

This will allow Apprentices to develop technical knowledge through formal qualifications, as well as key workplace skills and competencies through experiential learning.

The programmes lead to QQI awards from level 5 to 9 on the NFQ. The duration of these apprenticeships range from two to four years, depending on the chosen field of learning and the degree of difficulty involved in meeting the learning outcomes for the particular apprenticeship programme.

Community Training The community Training centres (CTC’s) provide training to early school leavers aged between 16 and 21 years, who are most in need of basic vocational training.

This training provision is divided between in centre learning and linked work experience. Courses lead to Major awards at QQI Level 3 and 4 or VTCT awards.

New Apprenticeships are currently available and are being developed in conjunction with SOLAS and lead industrial consortia across a wide range of industries and sectors, some of which include: • Accounting Technician, Level 6 • Industrial Electrical Engineer, Level 7 • Commis Chef, Levels 6 • Financial Services, Levels 6-8 • Insurance Practitioner, Level 8 • Manufacturing Engineer, Level 7 • Polymer Processing Technologist, Level 7 • Manufacturing Technician, Level 7 • ICT Network Engineer, Level 6 • ICT Software Developer, Level 6

Our Contact Details:

www.kcetbtraining.ie

Office: Training Services, Kilkenny and Carlow ETB, Unit 4 Danville Business Park, Kilkenny. Tel: 056 7813014

Training Centre: Unit K, IDA Business Park, Purcellsinch, Dublin Road, Kilkenny. Tel: 056 789456

Provision co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union

A number of Kilkenny and Carlow ETB Further Education and Training programmes are co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.

Education 55

Triumph of Collaboration The Further Education and Training Sector Glitters at WorldSkills Ireland in Sep 2023

THE Further Education and Training (FET) Sector in Ireland proudly showcased our programmes at the annual WorldSkills Ireland event held in RDS Dublin.

This year's event was significant for the FET Sector as it marked the remarkable collective collaboration of the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs), supported by SOLAS and Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI). This collective effort provided the FET Sector with a platform to exemplify its commitment to our learners, and to excellence, innovation, and skill development.

WorldSkills Ireland is a partnership that brings enterprise, industry, education, training, and government together to promote the recognition and importance of skills and apprenticeships in Ireland. The event features apprenticeship competitions and celebrates the skills and talents of Ireland's future workforce across various disciplines like construction, engineering, IT, and hospitality.

Nurturing skills The FET Sector's participation at WorldSkills underscored its dedication to nurturing skills and its significant contributions to building careers and a highly skilled workforce. The collaboration of the 16 ETBs highlighted their collective strength and vision for the future.

By combining resources, knowledge, and exper tise, the ETBs projected a powerful identity that demonstrates how the FET Sector can cater to Ireland's emerging talent by offering diverse and enriching training and learning experiences.

This collaborative effort further emphasises the FET Sector's pivotal role in the Irish apprenticeship and Further Education and Training systems. Events like WorldSkills Ireland underscore the importance of fostering skills, nurturing innovation, and preparing students and adult learners for a competitive and an ever-evolving job market.

56 Education

It also provides us with the opportunity to highlight how the FET Sector can equip individuals with the skills they need to succeed in a fastpaced and demanding labour market, further solidifying its essential role in shaping Ireland's future workforce Well-represented Mayo, Sligo, and Leitrim Education and Training Board (MSLETB) were well-represented at WorldSkills Ireland with apprentices participating in competitions across many fields of learning . These included Craft B u t c h e r y, J o i n e r y, C a r p e n t r y, Industrial Control, Architectural S t o n e m a s o n r y, A u t o m o b i l e Technology, Construction Plant Fitting, Digital Infrastructure and Mechanics competitions.

MSLETB has winners in the following competitions; Kieran Finnerty (Architectural Stonemasonry), James Etherson (Craft Butchery), Sean Doyle (Digital Infrastructure), and Gary Golden (Industrial Mechanics) and we look forward to supporting them in their quest for the gold medal at the 47th WorldSkills taking place in Lyon, France in September 2024.

One of the most popular stands on the day was the Commis Chef “Trya-Skill" demonstration which was facilitated by MSLETB’s Commis Chef A p p r e n t i c e s h i p Te a m , E i l e e n Buchanan, Rory Culkin and Shelia Flynn.

Students from across the country participated in cookie decorating with the end results creating a large WorldSkills student cake. Minister for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris, tried his hand at decorating some cookies aided by our own Glitter Fairy Shelia Flynn!

Our team also created the infam o u s Wo r l d S k i l l s c a ke w h i c h represented many of the different apprenticeships available in Ireland.

Overall, a great 3-day event.

See Yourself at msletb.ie Your path to success in Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim

Freephone 1800 100 100 to hear about: APPRENTICESHIPS TRAINEESHIPS POST-LEAVING CERTIFICATE (PLC) COURSES FULL-TIME COURSES PART-TIME COURSES

.................................................................. RESEARCH NEWS

Four ATU research teams win SFI funding to help communities find solutions to societal challenges FOUR Atlantic Technological University (ATU) research teams have secured funding from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) to come up with solutions to societal challenges through engagement and collaboration with communities, under the National Challenge Fund announced recently by Higher Education Minister Simon Harris.

The Challenge sees 25 research teams lead projects aimed at helping Ireland prepare for its green transition and digital transformation.

Bridge management & infrastructure investment Dr Amaya Vega’s and Dr Myra Lydon’s project “EMBRACEMobility” takes a community-centric approach to bridge management and infrastructure investment prioritisation to ensure the mobility needs of rural communities are taken into consideration. They will engage with the Western Development Commission (WDC), Galway County Council and other stakeholders.

Reversing social isolation Dr Ruth Quinn’s and Dr Natalie Delimata’s interdisciplinary project will explore how to address the dual issues of social isolation and environmental decline. It aims to support people’s mental and environmental health by empowering communities to create spaces that enable social connection through interaction with nature.

“How these spaces will work and what they look like will emerge through a series of conversations where diverse groups of people, facilitated by an interdisciplinary team of specialists, will together co-design and co-create sustainable shared spaces that reflect the needs, wants and interests of the local community and the natural environment,” according to Drs Quinn and Delimata.

Detecting disease in fish The NanoSA team lead by Dr Niall Maloney (ATU) and co-lead Professor Enda McGlynn (DCU) are working with team Societal Impact Champion Catherine McManus (Mowi Ireland) to further improve the sustainability of the Irish Aquaculture Industry by developing technology for the rapid diagnosis of pathogenic infections at farm sites.

“Current methods for the diagnosis of pathogens in aquaculture are time consuming and are carried out in laboratories that are sometimes far from farm sites. By developing technology for use directly at the farm site we can reduce sample to answer times and ensure more timely and appropriate disease management practices can be implemented.” said Dr Maloney.

Securing crops and soil health with sustainable fungicides ATU Sligo’s Dr Shane O’Reilly and DCU’s Ruairí Brannigan’s project, named LeafLock, will develop bio-based polymeric ‘stickers’ from unwanted biological by-products like woody biomass.

Fungal diseases are a persistent threat for global food supply, yet the production of fungicides relies on the petrochemical industry which has its own problems in terms of climate and carbon emissions. Degradation products from current fungicide formulations may also be harmful and threaten soil health.

“By adding these novel stickers into antifungal formulations, the LeafLock team aims to increase the effectiveness of fungicides and reduce the environmental burden in terms of emissions and contamination of soil with harmful compounds.” said Dr O’Reilly.

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Education 57

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58 Education

......................................................................................................................................................................................GREEN NEWS

32 per cent of Ireland’s electricity provided by wind in September

Students release ‘smart’ pebbles to track climate change impacts

Primary- and second-level students have placed 300 specially adapted RFID-enabled pebbles at Killiney Beach in Dublin and Raghly Beach in Sligo in a project to track coastal erosion.

The innovative project aims to strengthen coastal communities' ability to deal with the impacts of climate change using digital technologies.

Led by Dr Chiara Cocco and Dr Francesco Pilla, researchers with Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, at UCD and Dr Iulia Anton, a researcher at Atlantic TU Sligo, the ‘smart’ pebbles initiative is part of the

€10 million European-wide project SCORE (score-eu-project. eu) funded by the European Commission.

“The students will play a key role in releasing and monitoring 300 specially adapted Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) -enabled pebbles over the coming months. Each ‘smart’ pebble, painted yellow and typically about 10cm in size, has a RFID transponder cemented into drilled holes, enabling us to trace the impacts of erosion and their movements over the coming months,” explained Dr Cocco, Assistant Professor at UCD.

WIND Energy Ireland's latest monthly report shows that wind energy provided 32 per cent of electricity in September.

Electricity generated by wind in September was up by 25 per cent from September 2022.

Strong winds last month

delivered a third record-breaking month in a row in wind generation, with July, August and September all surpassing previous monthly records. Wind farms provided 32 per cent of the island’s electricity over the first nine months of 2023.

Education 59

WHY TAKE YOUR CLASS ON A SCHOOL TOUR THAT’S ORDINARY, WHEN IT COULD BE EPIC? At EPIC, we tell the stories of Irish people who followed their dreams, had amazing adventures and achieved remarkable things. We want the students who visit us to be equally inspired. From high-tech touch screens and motion sensor quizzes to a whispering library and atmospheric video imagery, an EPIC school tour is an exciting way to explore Irish history, identity and influence. Best of all, it’s fun for everyone!

NEW IMMERSIVE WORKSHOPS Give your class a hands-on experience with our newly revamped Emigrant’s Suitcase workshop. Based in the heart of the museum, students will explore how objects can tell people’s stories through one of four topics.

Irish History

Women’s History

Scientists

Adventures

Follow the stories of the amazing emigrants who departed Ireland’s shores to inspire people around the world, such as Bram Stoker.

Discover the lives and legacies of Ireland’s most inspirational women who have blazed a trail with our Women’s History programme.

Be inspired by these extraordinary Irish scientists who pioneered the way around the globe such as Jocelyn Bell Burnell.

Learn about EPIC’s courageous figures, such as Ernest Shackleton, who forged their own path to explore some of the most remote places on earth.

FREE TEACHER PASSES Are you a teacher? Enjoy TWO free passes to have a glimpse into all that EPIC has to offer!

To avail this officer, please contact us on groups@epicchq.com

epicchq.com 60 Education

......................................................................... GREEN NEWS

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Big thinking, more ambition and real action needed to deliver Net Zero Commitments - Engineers Ireland NEW research findings and innovations in the field of agriculture are crucial for our farmers and agri-food industry to reach net zero.

However, there is an absolute necessity to include engineering in the mix, to accelerate our pace of progress, according to the newly appointed President of Engineers Ireland, Dr Edmond Harty.

Speaking at the National Ploughing Championships this week, Dr Harty said: “Agricultural technology has now advanced to the point where robots can milk cows, harvest fruit, and even seed and weed our precious soils. In fact, the latest innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) can assist in identifying parasites in livestock; managing irrigation; and offering nutritional solutions to maximise crop yields”.

A magical mix of engineering and agriculture Dr Harty believes that we must have greater vision, imagination, scale, and ambition in our drive to deliver on our net zero commitments. He said that “aside from a few companies, there is little focus on engineering as a key tool to accelerate the pace in delivering net zero. We are only scratching the surface of digital, renewable, and sustainable technologies. We can conquer the world with agricultural technologies if we really want to move the needle, but there are dots that need to be joined up at a pace that we have not had up to now.

Commenting on IFAC’s Irish Farm Report, released earlier this year which found that 48% of farmers considered cost the biggest barrier to adopting technology on their farms, Dr Harty said: “there are a lot of technologies to choose from, but the level of adoption is varied, and many farmers do not necessarily see the cost-benefit”.

Research and innovation in the areas of methane mitigation, soil modification for crops, and alternative fertilisation methods, have demonstrated that significant reductions in carbon emissions can be achieved. Dr Harty notes that this is a key area where engineers can delivery real impact by developing technology that puts this research into practice on Irish farms, and this is a key area where our engineers can deliver real impact.

Sustainability – our new currency “We are operating in a world where sustainability is our new currency, and we must deliver economic, social, environmental, and nutritional sustainability. We must deliver nutrient-dense and healthy food of the highest quality, with the lowest carbon footprint to feed the needs of our growing and ageing population.

"The sector will have to deliver this working with our farmers, but they should also be working with our engineers. We also need to think about what our agriculture sector will look like in the next 20 years and how technology can benefit it,” Dr Harty said.

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Education 61

RECENTLY PUBLISHED ......................................................................................................................................................................

We Need To Talk

Youth

DR TONY HOLOHAN served as Chief Medical Officer in Ireland for 14 years, but only really became known to the public during the Covid 19 pandemic.

During this time his remarkable leadership skills came to the fore and he became the public face of the pandemic, helping to steer the nation through the biggest public health crisis in Ireland’s modern history.

How ever, while dealing with the most serious pandemic in a century in his professional life, he was also enduring challenges at home. His beloved wife of 25 years, Emer, was battling cancer, and died in February 2021. This remarkable book reflects on these experiences and inspires us to have those difficult conversations that ultimately make life more meaningful.

Marianne Gunn-O’Connor said, ‘‘Few of us are really tested in life in the way that Dr Tony Holohan was. We might ask ourselves how we would do if faced with a challenge on this scale. During the darkest of times his humanity shone through.’

Eriu Press • Around €20

YOUTH by Kevin Curran dives into the lives of four teenagers in Ireland’s most diverse town, Balbriggan.

Angel is about to finish school and discover if Drill music and his YouTube fame can deliver on their promises. Princess is battling to escape her claustrophobic surroundings and go to university. Dean is ready to come out from under his famous father’s shadow. Tanya, struggling with the spotlight of internet infamy, is still posting her dream life for all of her faithful followers.

Isolated and disorientated by the white noise and insurmountable expectations of adolescence, our protagonists are desperate to find anything that helps them belong. Oblivious to each other’s presence, potential and struggles, they pass on the street as strangers. But when they do intersect, the connections they make will change the course of their lives.

Curran’s evocative writing yields the authenticity this novel demands.

Lilliput Press • Around €18

52 Proverbs to Build Resilience against Anxiety and Panic

Bad Magic

By Fiann Ó Nualláin

By Derek Pandy, with art from PJ Holden and Matt Soffe

FIANN Ó Nualláin brings the ancient wisdom of Irish proverbs to life with the help of modern techniques like mindfulness, positive psychology, and cognitive behavioral therapy. In this practical self-help book, you’ll find 52 proverbs that speak directly to the worries and stresses of modern life. These proverbs are more than clever idioms.

They are the accumulated wisdom of our ancestors passed down through generations as a way to navigate life’s challenges. By reading these proverbs and following the accompanying exercises, you’ll be able to chart a course through life’s obstacles and find greater happiness, calm, and meaning.

Mercier Press • Around €13

A SMALL town in the middle of Ireland, a string of unexplained deaths and a monster on the loose. Better call in the experts.

When Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain drive into Termoncara, they discover a town with a dark past and a people haunted by their own secrets.

There is a creature stalking the streets – a creature who delights in cruelty, who feeds off the little hatreds, who grows stronger with every drop of blood spilled.

‘A real cracker. Fun, thrilling, smartly scripted and powerfully making a stand for diversity and inclusion. Even if this is your first encounter with the worlds of Skulduggery Pleasant, it’s one you will adore and never forget’. Win Wiacek, Now Read This!

Harper Collins • Around €15

Absent Friend

Work. Life. By Claire O'Connell

By Dr Tony Holohan

By John MacKenna ABSENT Friend is a meditation on a thirty year friendship between Leonard Cohen and Irish writer John MacKenna.

Through their letters, emails and MacKenna’s exploration of his favourite Leonard Cohen songs, the book builds a picture of a comradship that culminated in their creating Between Your Love and Mine, a requiem Mass for theatre, in the months before Leonard’s death.

Harvest Press • Around €15

62 Education

By Kevin Curran

A COLLECTION of useful and interesting tips, hacks and insights from people who have made a mark in their field, and that readers might find helpful in their professional and personal lives.

The book brings together short snippets of hard-earned wisdom and insights from people - mostly women - who have achieved much in their careers alongside calming and colourful graphics.

The advice you will find here is, for the most part, distilled from a series of masterclasses run by the Royal Irish Academy and Accenture Ireland(link is external).

Readers can dip in and savour the pearls of wisdom found within this book - some insights may resonate now and others may chime at a later point in your life or career. Other contributors include Jane Ohlmeyer, Linda Doyle and Rhona Mahony. .

Irish Academic Press • Around €8

Education 63

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