Accredited and Targeting Unemployed

TIPPERARY INSTITUTE offers free places for people who have been unemployed for at least three months. The places are funded by the Irish government on several accredited third level courses during the 2010/11 academic year. I hope we fill 10 seats in our first year multimedia programme with funding from the Labour Market Activation Fund--attracting people who are upskilling for another career. There are real advantages to completing accredited programmes in Ireland. As an external examiner and a member of several interview panels, I've seen questions arise when candidates present non-accredited certificates from training agencies, educational institutions or workplaces. If a reviewing authority can't validate the quality of a programme, it's hardly worth the effort of putting it on a CV for consideration when trying to gain an exemption or a wage review. The HETAC accreditation of the BSc in Creative Multimedia means the programme meets Irish higher education quality standards, that it undergoes rigorous peer reviews at least twice a year and that the overall programme has standing in the commercial market.