THERE are no comprehensive statistics on women's employment independent radio but we know that they are under-represented in technical areas, in programming and in station management," says Mary Owens, co-ordinator of the Women on Air programme. "We felt that a training programme was needed which would provide women with the skills they need to get into radio. Our course is the first of its kind in a few respects. It's the only course specifically for women which meets practical needs - such as child care facilities."
The programme has no educational requirements. Participants were chosen for their interest in working in radio as well as for their communications skills, creativity and experience, she says.
Women on Air is supported by EU funding. While funding has now dried up, Owens is hopeful of more funding either from the EU or other sources. "We've applied for more EU support. If we're successful it will enable us to run a number of foundation courses which would be very valuable in getting as many women as possible involved," she says.
To date the initiative has taken the form of a nine-week foundation course in radio skills and a year-long, part-time diploma in applied communications for radio which has the practical side of programme-making as its main objective. The programme is a joint initiative between UCG, the Independent Radio and Television Commission and Connemara Community Radio.
The 17 students, drawn from the Galway/Mayo area, have been based at studios in UCG. Aged between mid-20s and mid-50s, most of the women on the course had a round trip of 100 miles a day to get to Galway. They were recruited mainly from among volunteers working in Connemara Community Radio and Radio Castlebar although a small number had no radio experience. Their fees, travel and child-minding costs were covered by the NOW funding.
Mary Roe from Renvyle took part in both the foundation and diploma courses. She has been a volunteer broadcaster with Connemara Community Radio for the past two years presenting a magazine-style hour-long morning radio programme once a week.
"I got involved by accident and I've done everything from answering the phone to reading the weather," she says. "The foundation course was a great help because it reinforced the little bit I knew and it also confirmed for me that I needed more training to be comfortable with the technical side. The diploma course was more comprehensive - it covered media law, radio production, the making of programmes, conducting interviews and how to present and research a programme. There were also five weeks' work experience which I did with RTE in Dublin - that was fantastic.
"As a result of this I did a piece for the RTE programme, No Chalk No Charice, which I really enjoyed. I'd like to do more of this type of work. I found the course very enriching. Our tutors were extremely supportive and patient and nothing was too much trouble for them. There was a very good spirit in the group.
EILEEN GIBBONS from Galway city has also been on the diploma course. The mother of two young children, she says child care was central to her being able to take part.
"I couldn't have done the course without the child care, it was a major advantage for me," she says.
"I had been working as an actress before my children were born and, while I was happy to take time out for them, I was still interested in doing something creative. Elbows deep in the kitchen sink, it seemed to me that radio was capable of crossing boundaries and reaching out to people and that it was an area in which I could work.
"I loved the course. Initially it felt strange to be in an all-female group, but that quickly passed and I must say the people in the group were a really interesting mix. There were people with a lot of experience and people with very little and there was a very strong spirit of support. I learnt a great deal.
"One of the highlights for me was that I wrote a radio drama during the course which I really enjoyed. The course also made it clear to me that I would prefer to work on the creative rather than the technical side of radio."
