AMTCE and ETTA join forces to boost second level STEM

will increase access and participation in engineering and technology initiatives and develop a talent pipeline of highly skilled future employees in high value jobs for our thriving manufacturing sector,’ O’Brien continued.

Founded in 1983, the Engineering Technology Teachers' Association (E.T.T.A.) is a voluntary administered association representing teachers of Engineering, Technology and Design and Communication Graphics (D.C.G.).

With over 300 active members, it supports teachers and students in what is a time of immense change in the Irish education system and runs the nationally acclaimed Young Engineer of the Year competition for Leaving Cert students.

Delighted

Barry Convey, chair of ETTA said, ‘The ETTA is delighted to have the opportunity to develop and sign a Memorandum of Understanding with LMETB/ AMTCE.

‘This MoU highlights the importance of positive relationships and progressive collaboration which will be of huge benefit to the ETTA members and their students.

‘This agreement gives access for the ETTA to amazing opportunities to develop bespoke training courses and world class facilities and gives rise to the development of such courses that will lead to CPD for members in a rapidly changing space in education at this moment in time.’

AMTCE was established in 2021 by the LMETB to deliver hands on skills-oriented training needed to underpin the transition of Irish enterprise to industry 4.0 based operations, with a focus on manufacturing, pharma, food & drink, construction, and engineering sectors.

The courses offered include Robotic Processes, Cobotics, Additive Manufacturing, IIoT, CAD/CAM, Industrial Control, Cybersecurity, Process Optimization (Lean 6 Sigma), BioPharma and Food Processing to name a few.

Ground-breaking

Sadie Ward McDermott, director of further education and training (FET) in LMETB said:

‘This is a ground-breaking partnership which highlights the significant importance that LMETB attaches to providing access to State-of-the-art FET facilities at the AMTCE for ETTA members.

'The anticipated accrued benefits to the promotion and enabling of students and learners in second and FET levels in STEM will be significant.

‘LMETB view this MoU to be a significant building block in a multi-pronged strategy to support and increase engagement of students and learners in STEM related projects, courses and programmes and to ultimately work towards increasing numbers of those considering career pathways in STEM related disciplines.’

Welcoming

Welcoming the signing of the MOU, Fiona Kindlon, director of schools, LMETB, said:

‘I look forward to working with ETTA in a strong, collegial and collaborative manner to sustain and further develop the positive and professional working relations that currently exist between LMETB, ETTA and Engineering and Technology subject teachers in LMETB.

‘The Department of Education Digital Strategy for Schools and the Looking at our Schools 2022 document require schools to be more creative and innovative about learning, teaching and assessment in our classrooms.’

Designer Group’s Kenya – Kisumu Youth Empowerment Programme Update 2023, by

Brendan Kearns,

training director, Designer Group.

‘We are at the midway point in phase two of our youth empowerment programme in Kenya’, says Brendan Kearns, training director with Designer Group.

‘The programme is part of our construction work in Kenya’, explains Brendan. ‘We decided to give something back to the local community.

‘Our operations director Gary Byrne and myself undertook to work with local youth and partnered with Self Help Africa to develop a programme where, rather than give handouts, we enabled youth groups to provide for themselves through training and development.

‘Phase 1 was completed in 2019 and we had a gap with Covid lockdown; so once we had the “all clear” we commenced planning for the next stages with our partners in Self Help Africa.

Purpose

‘The purpose of our programme is to empower the youth groups involved and enable them with the skills, training and development to allow them gain employment and/or start their own business.

‘These young people come from local slum areas which would traditionally have low school attendances and high unemployment.

‘Currently, (at time of writing) we have fifteen students – who mainly were part of the first phase of the programme – who have now commenced their college phase and are now currently on work placement and will be returning to college shortly to commence their module 2 Trades examination at NITA Training College.

Working hard

‘Exams are upcoming and the students are working hard with mid-June the date for completion of this, and graduation.

‘The students are engaged in Plumbing, Electrical, Hair and Beauty and NITA Training college has proven to be an excellent choice as a partner to train and develop our youth group involved.

‘Our latest meeting in NITA with the students was an inspiring visit, as each student was given a chance to tell their stories, speak about their own goals and ambitions, provide feedback on how things were progressing.

‘Our second activity involves almost 200 youth, based in local slums Kondele and Obunga.

‘We have broken these into ten Youth groups with ten ambassadors overseeing and providing guidance and feedback .

‘The groups are well established, and we met them in their neighbourhoods, to hear their stories, discuss their plans and provide feedback and guidance advice.

Next steps

‘Next steps for the youth groups is commencement of the business development phase where we engage closely with each group and the ambassadors to bring the working groups to self-sufficiency stages.

‘Our youth empowerment programme is scheduled for completion at the end of June 2023 and we look forward to meeting the young people at this stage and hopefully successful news!’

Further education and career choices are always under the spotlight at this time of year across the country.

At leading mechanical and electrical engineering contractor Kirby Group Engineering, the team is once again reminding students that there are many ways to begin a rewarding career in the sector.

The firm is proud to run hugely successful graduate and apprenticeship schemes that form a vital stream of their talent pipeline.

Kirby has been supporting apprentices for nearly sixty years and currently has over 200 apprentices training and working throughout its business.

First year

Amy Delaney is in the first year of her apprenticeship and is currently working on site. She joined Kirby in October 2022 and is loving the experience so far:

‘I was going to go to college, but I was chatting to my Dad who’s an electrician and I decided to give the apprenticeship a try,’ she says.

‘I was afraid it might be intimidating on site but everyone has been so nice.

‘Most of the time we’re out working and then we go back into training to learn more.

‘It’s even better than I expected and I’d recommend it to girls and guys as a career choice.

‘I’m going back to my old school in Dublin to talk to sixth years about my course in a few months’ time and I can’t wait to tell them it’s such a good option.’

Started

Many of the company’s senior leaders also began their careers as apprentices, including Mikey Ryan who started his training with