Free higher education for the long-term unemployed

TRALEE'S Institute of Technology is recruiting for the latest round of the government's Springboard initiative, which offers free higher education for jobseekers, without affecting social welfare benefits.IT Tralee has a number of Springboard courses, which have been designed to meet current labour market needs.

Subjects covered include information technology, science, energy management, automation, biomedical devices, and bio-pharmaceuticals. All courses are part-time and are at certificate, degree, and postgraduate level, with admission depending on the level of education the applicant already has.Course applicants must be unemployed for at least six months when the course starts, and be receiving a welfare payment.Springboard is a government initiative managed by the Higher Education Authority on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills.

It provides funded part-time education and training opportunities for people who are unemployed, but looking for work, while also allowing them to keep any benefits they are eligible for.Kerry-based Springboard student Thomas Dillon, who studied for a Certificate in Business Management at IT Tralee, said the course has got him thinking about starting his own business: The course is an investment in my future and because all the students tend to be older and are unemployed, we support each other too.Most Springboard courses begin in the normal academic term, starting from September 2011.