Celtic Tiger tradesmen miss out by not going back to school

By tom gilmore YOUNG men who left school to work in the booming building business without completing their Leaving Certificates during the Celtic Tiger era are still not availing of free adult learning services. While many adult women, who also left school early, are taking advantage of the free adult learning programmes in computers, reading, writing, maths, driver theory etc at the Vocational Education Adult Learning Centre, Chapel Lane, Tuam there are still very few men availing of the courses. 'We are looking for young men in particular who left school to work on the buildings during the Celtic Tiger years with only their Junior Certificate.[private] Free service 'We can help them with preparing their CVs, as well as with learning Internet and computer skills. Its all free and very confidential,' says VEC Adult Literacy organiser Sheila Holland Fox. 'There has to be many out there who haven't come forward and many of them may only need to brush up on their skills. 'The courses are as short or as long as participants want them to be. We don't put anyone under pressure and there is one to one learning if they wish,' she added. Courses re-started this week at the centre in Tuam and classes are also planed for outreach centres in Dunmore, Ballymoe and Glenamaddy in the near future. The centre in Tuam is open from 9 am to 10 pm Monday to Friday and Sheila says the tutors try to operate classes that will suit people's availability. 'These courses are not just in reading, writing, maths and spelling. There is a wide diversity in what is available. 'For example one course, Skills for Work, is for people who are working, either full or part-time or self-employed and while the aim is to encourage as many as possible to get FETAC certificates, nobody is pushed to do so,' she added. Over 60 adults took the free courses last year and got the Level 3 FETAC certificates, which are equivalent to passing the Junior Certificate, and those adult students will be presented with their certificates in November. They range in ages from 18 to 70 and the Tuam Adult Education Centre aims to have accreditation ceremonies once a year. 'Our purpose is to provide adult education and basic computer skills for people who left school before doing their Leaving Certificate.' The courses build up people's confidence and self-esteem. The centre has 12 computers in one of its training rooms, all with broadband and internet access,and one of the oldest students of computer studies to get a FETAC Level 3 certificate last year was 70. The Tuam centre is now open for over three years and it also works closely with home-school liaison officers, the HSE, Department of Justice, Brú Bhride, the Jigsaw Project, various Community Employment (CE) schemes, the Irish Wheelchair Association and many other organisations. It is operated by Co Galway Vocational Education Committee (VEC) and funded by the Department of Education and Skills. 'While we work closely with schools our classes are here in the centre and not in schools, so there is no danger of adults meeting their children in school classrooms,' says Sheila Holland Fox. Small groups She also pointed out that as tutors, such as Geraldine Tuttle and Eithne Lynch, work with very small groups in the centre this aspect of the courses as well as one to one tuition in some instances also makes the training very confidential. There are also courses on English for non-nationals, inter-generational stories where groups get together and relate stories from the past and catalogue old photos and other memorabilia from the past. 'This is important for non-nationals whose parents and grandparents may still be back in Poland or some other foreign country as well as for Irish people who want to chronicle the past history of their families,' concluded Sheila. Those interested in availing of the courses can contact the centre at Chapel Lane, Tuam at 26609 or ring Sheila on 087-6675516.[/private]