THE GOVERNMENT has announced details of over 1,000 places for unemployed workers on postgraduate courses starting this autumn.
The 1,023 part-time courses will be available to graduates who have lost jobs as a result of the recession. Every university and institute of technology has offered places.
The move, announced yesterday by Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe, follows the allocation last week of 1,500 part-time undergraduate college places for jobless workers. In June, the Government announced that it would provide 2,500 college places to encourage jobless workers to upskill or learn new skills. It will also reduce the total of unemployed people.
A total of 520 places are being made available in the 13 institutes of technology with the remainder being provided in the seven universities. The institution offering most places is University College Dublin which has 190 places available. Dublin Institute of Technology is offering 130 places.
Mr O’Keeffe said the move was part of an initiative to help people find new skills. He said the Higher Education Authority had focused on sectors of the economy considered key to tackling the recession and driving economic growth.
While students will be allowed to retain social welfare payments while enrolled on the courses, some institutions will levy an annual fee of €500. The shortest duration is two semesters while some courses will last for two years.
“Widespread job losses are a feature of many sectors of the economy,” Mr O’Keeffe conceded.
“The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs has identified areas in which there are forecasted skills shortages at graduate level. These 1,000 postgraduate places are aimed at addressing skills deficits and helping unemployed workers to develop skills for the type of high-value jobs that will be key to economic recovery.”
Applicants must confirm that they have a claim for a jobseeker’s payment of at least six months or else to provide a copy of form RP50 confirming they are entitled to statutory redundancy from their most recent employment.
There is a bias towards advanced computing, digital media, software development, financial services computing, advanced science, and green technology. The graduate certificates being offered by UCD are in: innovation and entrepreneurship; ICT skills; nano-bio science; green technologies; and sustainable agriculture and rural development.
In the University of Limerick the courses being offered are in: lean healthcare; lean Sigma systems; technology commercialisation; project management; international financial services; and web application development.
Mr O’Keeffe has said that the initiative will help the Government’s “smart economy” plan, which focuses on the use of clean technology and the expansion of exporting sectors such as medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, international financial services and the food sector.
The Higher Education Authority is funding the postgraduate places. See www.hea.ie for a full list of courses.
