Looking to upskill or reskill? Here’s an option...

WHETHER it’s to help with career progression, a career change, or the return to employment, people in Ireland today have a huge interest in upskilling and reskilling.

We recently undertook research that showed almost half of the adult population is interested in taking a course to upskill or reskill.

Springboard+, an upskilling initiative in higher education, offers free and subsidised part-time and full-time courses at certificate, degree and master’s levels. The courses aim to lead to qualifications in areas where there are employment opportunities in the economy. The courses have been designed with industry needs in mind.

Courses are open to all eligible applicants, whether they are employed, unemployed or returners to work.

Now in its 14th year, over 100,000 people have benefitted from a Springboard+ course. 

As the economy and labour market have changed over the years, the structure of the programme has adapted accordingly.

When Springboard+ was established in 2011, it was a job activation programme with the focus on getting people who had been displaced from their employment back into the workforce quickly by equipping them with new skills. Those on a social welfare payment are still prioritised, but as the unemployment rates have fallen, the eligibility criteria have broadened.

Now, courses are also available for returners, who are people who had taken time out of the workforce for caring responsibilities, and who felt that their skills needed to be updated. It has since opened up to everybody, including those already in employment.

Today, Springboard+ is mainly about people reskilling and upskilling. 

This has become even more vital, as changes in technology have altered many jobs. Springboard+ provides reskilling for those whose roles may become redundant due to these advances in technology.

There are options for everybody. Even if someone doesn’t have a formal qualification, or if their formal qualification is from a few years ago. There should never be a barrier to somebody considering a Springboard+ course. The flexible delivery of programmes means that individuals with work and family commitments can consider enrolling on a course. 37% of the courses across Ireland this year will run entirely online, and 61% through blended learning. This means that people from Cork can easily enrol in courses run by other course providers right across the country.

Getting back into education is easier than ever before. In the 24/25 academic year, there are more than 8,200 places on 252 courses available through Springboard+, the majority of which are flexible and part-time.

Springboard+ has such a wide range of courses on offer, which is what makes it so appealing to people. 

It has been hugely significant in terms of the impact that it has had on people through the range of programmes available.

Within Springboard+, the skills areas being developed include ICT skills such as cybersecurity, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Sustainability and climate change has continued to grow in importance in recent years, with sustainable building being a popular course for those in construction.

Courses with a focus on energy and environmental infrastructure, decarbonisation, and sustainable development are also vital.

There are also skills gaps in areas people might not think about, such as logistics. When you look at the impact the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit have had on the supply chain in and out of Ireland, there has been an increasing focus on logistics to ensure that we’re able to manage that supply chain.

In Cork alone, 1,114 places on 39 courses are available to applicants through Springboard+ on a part-time and full-time basis. 

These will be provided through University College Cork (UCC), Munster Technological University (MTU) and GetReSkilled.

Alongside Springboard+, the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Pillar 1 also offers free and subsidised full-time courses. In total there are 3,215 places on 107 courses available on the HCI Pillar 1 initiative nationwide, both entirely online and through blended learning.

These are in areas such as Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and data analytics, engineering, manufacturing, and construction at graduate and postgraduate levels. Several courses are also available that address green skills and climate change.

For both programmes course providers engage with the industry in their region before they design the courses. They speak to local industry and see where the skills gaps are. The providers also look nationally at the areas where there needs to be upskilling. The courses are designed to think of the future in terms of new technologies, or new companies that might be coming to Ireland who need graduates with particular skills.

Springboard+ and HCI Pillar 1 courses provide a great opportunity for people in Cork to upskill and reskill in regionally and nationally sought-after skills areas. But they can also balance their career and family responsibilities while completing the programme.

People who might want to move into a different sector, upskill in new technologies in their current sector, or upgrade their role within their own organisation can get so much out of this programme.

Completing a course shows they’re ready to take on the challenges that might be coming. Lifelong learning makes such an impact and hopefully, the Springboard+ and HCI Pillar 1 course offering can continue to change people’s lives.

See www.springboardcourses.ie