Free places at colleges available in September
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Unemployed people will be offered free part-time places at 18 higher-level institutions across the nation in September.
Monday July 27 2009
The 1,500 free part-time college places promised for unemployed workers will be available in 18 institutions around the country from September.
The Department of Education said undergraduate certificate and degree-level programmes will be in 13 institutes of technology, four universities and the National College of Ireland.
The scheme is part of the Government’s efforts to upskill those in the labour force who were made redundant in the downturn.
Applicants will be asked to confirm they have claimed jobseeker’s payment of at least six months or else provide a copy of form RP50 confirming they are entitled to statutory redundancy from their most recent employment.
Tuition fees will be covered and students will be entitled to retain their social welfare payments while on the course. For details visit www.education.ie and contact the institutions directly.
Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe said the initiative, co-funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, is aimed at upskilling and reskilling workers for jobs in the sectors of the economy considered key to tackling the recession.
“The third-level sector has a critical role to play in helping unemployed workers develop the type of skills they need to get back into the labour force,” he said.
“Tuition fees will not be charged for these courses, which will vary between one and four years in length. Students who get a job before their course finishes won’t have to pay tuition costs for that academic year.”
Elsewhere, Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes called on the education partners to use the September and October period as a time for a public discussion |on possible savings within the education budget.
“What is needed, in my view, is an honest and forthright debate on how we can protect the frontline services that exist within education,” he said.
