TRAINING PROGRAMMES for non-commissioned officers in the Defence Forces are to be recognised externally through academic degrees.
The move will allow graduates to use their career training in the jobs markets after leaving the service. Thirteen NCOs in the Naval Service are the first graduates under the new programme having been awarded a BA in leadership, management and naval studies by the National Maritime College of Ireland – part of the Cork Institute of Technology.
Commandant of the Naval College, Cdr Martin Counihan said the awarding of the ordinary-level degrees was the result of a five-year project under the National Frameworks of Qualification through which Naval Service training and education programmes are recognised.
“Achievement of the degree involved recognition of the student’s prior learning as a member of the Naval Service combined with the successful completion of the senior NCO’s course and a research thesis,” he said.
“The award to the senior NCOs reflects the accreditation of current Naval Service shore and sea training and education over a 10-15 year period and is very rare if not unique in military training and education programmes.”
The incorporation of the training into a degree programme means the expertise that staff acquired can be taken into account as a qualification if they leave the service and apply for a job.