OMG What A Complete Education 

ETBI (Education And Training Boards Ireland) are delighted to announce a brand-new podcast series created in partnership with SOLAS and co-hosted by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, authors of the ‘Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling’ series.

As Further Education & Training alumni, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen will be putting learner voices from across Ireland behind the microphone to explore how FET has helped people of all ages and backgrounds to find their paths!

You can find all the episodes below. We’ll add more as they come out. Or you can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or at your favourite place to listen to podcasts.

Episode 6

Destination Anywhere – using the FET highway to get there

Emer and Sarah talk to Fiona Kavanagh, who always dreamed of becoming a primary school teacher but says she struggled to understand her own learning style in secondary school. When she didn’t get the points she’d hoped for in the Leaving Cert, she found a new route to make her dream career happen – a Childcare Special Needs course in Whitehall College of Further Education. She went on to do an education course in DCU, and then decided to go back and do her Masters of Education during the pandemic. She is now working as a sixth-class teacher.

Emer and Sarah also speak to Emer McMullin who went straight into the world of work after leaving school. After the bank she worked at left the Republic of Ireland market, she worried that while she had years of experience, she didn’t have any qualifications that would help her find new opportunities. Emer rang Donegal ETB who told her all about ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’- tune in to find out more!

Episode 5

Returning to Learning

Emer and Sarah speak to Liam Cleere, who had a bad experience in school but totally transformed his life through Adult Education in Tipperary ETB. Just eight years ago, Liam could read a little bit, but couldn’t write his own name. Now, he is about to publish a book.

Similarly, Dolores Millea has changed her life for the better by participating in Family Learning after leaving school at 13. She has taken cookery, gardening and woodwork courses, and this year she is planning on gaining IT skills through a computer course.

Episode 4

Everything you didn’t know about Apprenticeships!

Whatever you think you know about Apprenticeships, Emer and Sarah are here to turn that upside down. In this episode they meet Lorraine Carey, an Accountancy Technician Apprentice coming to us from Kerry ETB, and all-round superwoman, and Aisling Cleary who is currently completing a Supply Chain Manager Apprenticeship at Masters Level through Laois Offaly ETB.

Episode 3

Bringing the Great Outdoors into the studio.

Emer is a self-confessed lover of the great outdoors. She swims in the sea, and not only owns a pair of hiking boots, but also hiking sandals! She and Sarah chat to Mick Kane, Director of Achill Outdoor Education Centre, as he maps his journey from a teenager obsessed with the outdoors to embodying his environmental passions by working in conservation.

They also speak to Tadhg Boyden, a teacher of outdoor learning at Cork Education and Training Board. After leaving school feeling ‘lost’, he says he stumbled across outdoor education and tells Emer and Sarah how adventuring outdoors has helped him overcome fears.

Episode 2

The Leaving Cert really isn’t for everyone – PLC learners have their say!

Emer and Sarah meet two young learners who have some thoughts on the Leaving Cert.

Abbie Foley struggled during school and left without sitting her Leaving Cert but with the support of her guidance counsellor, found a path into a PLC in Journalism, Digital Media and Public Relations at Dunboyne College of Further Education which she felt was ‘made for her’. Emer and Sarah also chat to Amanda Jonaityte, who completed a Level 5 PLC in Business Studies and Computing in Ó Fiaich Institute of Further Education, Dundalk back in 2018. She is now in her final year in Law at Trinity College Dublin, and she has a special interest in data protection law.

Episode 1

A Love Letter to Ballyfermot – Emer and Sarah go back to where it all started for them.

Did you know that best-selling authors of the Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling book series Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen met at Ballyfermot College of Further Education? Listen to them recount their path through Further Education and Training (FET) after deciding university wasn’t the path for them. They also chat to John Moriarty, formerly of Ballyfermot College and now Director of Transformation and Knowledge at City of Dublin Education and Training Board and Cleo Knight, a learner who left school feeling she wasn’t academic and now inspires the next generation of students coming through Ballyfermot College.

Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB) is seeking an organisation with experience of providing services to young people, to deliver a new service to young people in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Area.

This is being established in line with the UBU Your Place Your Space Scheme funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Inclusion & Youth (DCEDIY).

The services will be targeted and specific to the needs of the young people in the area.

Requirements For Service Provider

The organisation sought should:
✔ Exemplify good practice in relation to vision, methodologies, governance, compliance, programme design and delivery
✔ Be experienced in working with teenagers and young adults, using a non-formal educational methodology
✔ Operate in an out-of-school setting, including evenings, weekends and holidays
✔ Understand the nature and needs of a diverse youth population and offer appropriate responses
✔ Able to devise and measure effective responses
✔ Be committed to on-going sharing of learning and collaboration

How To Apply

Application is by means of an Application Form and Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.

For an Information Pack, Pre-Qualification Questionnaire and Application Form, please contact Denise Cummins, Staff Officer at denisecummins@ddletb.ie

Closing Date

Closing date for receipt of Application Form and Pre-Qualification Questionnaires, in four hard copies: Friday 21st October at 12 noon.

Please return the completed Application Form and Pre-qualification questionnaire to:
Caitriona Murphy,
Chief Executive Offi cer,
Reference: UBU DLR New Service
DDLETB, 1 Tuansgate, Belgard Square East,
Tallaght, Dublin 24. D24X62W.

The Irish Times Higher Options Expo is taking place at the RDS in Dublin from Wednesday, September 21st to Friday, September, 23rd.

The conference is the starting point for many students as they begin to plan the next phase of their educational journey.

It brings together representatives of institutions and organisations offering students information on almost every conceivable educational progression opportunity available in Ireland and abroad.

DDLETB will be there! Please come and visit us at Stand 20. 

Have a chat with our teams from

• Blackrock Further Education Institute
• Dún Laoghaire Further Education Institute
• Dundrum College of Further Education
• Sallynoggin College of Further Education
• Stillorgan College of Further Education
• Adult Education Service Guidance
• Deansrath Community College
• Grange Community College
• Greenhills Community College
• Baldoyle Training Centre
• Loughlinstown Training Centre
• Tallaght Training Centre

DDLETB offers courses, apprenticeships and training in a wide range of subjects and fields.

We look forward to meeting you at the expo!

The following information is from the Irish Times and gives a little more information about what to expect at the Higher Options education expo.

What is Higher Options?

It is an education expo where institutions from at home and abroad are represented. You will have the opportunity to talk to them in-person to help you make an informed decision about what course you will study and what type of institution you will attend.

What makes it so special?

While most institutions organise their own open days, Higher Options brings them all under the one roof, meaning that you can engage with several institutions in a short time. Even if you already have an idea about what you would like to do, you may not have decided on what type of college you would like to attend or what particular course would best suit you.

What questions should I ask?

The first question you ask should be one that you ask of yourself. What kind of course are you interested in and what are you looking for in a college? Jot these down before you attend and draw up a list of colleges you wish to talk to. As a rule of thumb, it is a good idea to ask the same questions of each representative. That will help you get as measured an understanding of each institution as is possible. Tailor your questions to suit your interests and needs. Ask about the various courses on offer. What are the academic requirements, what courses will make you more employable? What areas are covered in each course and how are they assessed? How big are lectures/classes and do they feature one-on-one or group supervision? Remember, you can ask representatives for contact details in case you have any further questions you may want to ask later.