Useful contacts: Irish Travel Agents' Association (ITAA), 32-34 South William Street (tel: (01) 670 7679); CERT, Amiens Street, Dublin 1 (tel: (01) 855 6555)
The IATA/UFTAA qualification: The ITAA supports the qualifications offered by the International Air Transport Association/Universal Federation of Travel Agents' Associations (IATA/ UFTAA) diploma as well as a new course which has been jointly developed with CERT, the State tourism training authority.
The IATA/UFTAA diploma forms part of the full-time travel and tourism courses in eight colleges in Ireland: St John's Central College, Cork; Skerry's Business College, Cork; Colaiste Ide, Finglas, Dublin; Stillorgan Senior College, Dublin; DIT Cathal Brugha Street, Dublin; Drogheda College of Further Education, Drogheda, Co Louth; Mean Scoil Mhuire, Newtownsmith, Galway; Mayoralty College, Dublin.
Post Leaving Cert courses: A variety of PLC courses are on offer in travel and tourism. Most lead to NCVA level-2 awards and a number prepare students for the IATA/UFTAA diplomas (see above). PLC courses are usually one-year full-time and there are no tuition fees. Students are eligible to apply for means-tested maintenance grants. Contact your local VEC or PLC provider for details of courses in your area.
Third-level courses: Certificates, diplomas and degrees in travel and tourism are available through the CAO. General courses such as business studies, marketing, cultural studies and applied languages should also be useful starting points. Some of the institutes of technology offer add-on diplomas and degrees (check the college prospectuses). Related courses include business studies, marketing, languages, cultural and heritage studies.
