Students are moving on up with St Catherine’s
Graduates pictured at the St Catherine's Community Services graduation ceremony in the Seven Oaks Hotel with tutors Andrea Dalton, Pamela O'Neill and Lorraine Alcock and co-ordinator Tony Duffy Photos: michaelorourkephotography.ie
ST CATHERINE’S Community Services Centre recently hosted a graduation ceremony for students from the ‘Moving On’, ‘Making Connections’ and ‘Learning for Everyday Life’ programmes for 2023-24 in the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow.
Students celebrated their success along with programme staff and representatives from the main funding organisations, KCETB, Department of Social Protection, Tusla and Carlow County Development Partnership.
The Moving On programme is a one-year course for mothers aged from 17 to 35 who wish to get back into education or work. It is a QQI level 4 in Employment Skills, running from Monday to Friday and offering students a range of accredited modules. Manual handling, first aid and stress management are just some of the courses covered in the programme. Childcare and afterschool costs are covered by St Catherine’s, making the course more accessible.
Making Connections offers participants the opportunity to complete a QQI level 3 Major Award in Employability Skills. It is a part-time course designed to provide opportunities for people wanting to return to education and training. It is delivered on a one-to-one basis.
The noted benefits of the programme are the structure that it offers learners, the personalised one-to-one support, a positive experience and taste for learning and progression, new skills, improved literacy and numeracy, together
with a renewed self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment.
The Learning for Everyday Life programme is a QQI level 3 accredited course for adult learners who would like to take the first step in improving their basic level of education or English in a supportive community setting. The course runs in St Catherine’s Community Services Centre from Monday to Friday, 9.45am to 1pm, for the academic year. Help with childcare can be provided and other supports, including one-to-one support, mentoring, information and guidance, will be an integral part of the course. KCETB Carlow Adult Educational Guidance and Information Service provides one-to-one guidance on progression options.
For more information on any of the programmes, contact Tony Duffy, Moving On co-ordinator, on 085 1628570 or tonyd@catherines.ie; Catherine McCarthy, Making Connections co-ordinator, on 085 8053316 or catherinem@catherines.ie; or Andrea Dalton, Learning For Everyday Life co-ordinator, on 059 9138706 or andread@catherines.ie.
