Childcare and IT Graduations 2007

The students who had participated on the WELL – Women, Enterprise and Life Long Learning Equality Funded Project (March – December 2007) were also awarded certificates in Computer studies and 15 women received FETAC Accreditation in Computer Literacy and Word Processing. The WELL Project was part of a wider programme with centres at Moygownagh, Knockmore and the Tocher Valley area in South Mayo. Opening the event Kevin McBrien of FETAC (Further Education Training Awards Council) congratulated the graduates and said that they had taken part in valuable training that would be recognised not only in Ireland but also in the wider European community.

Presenting the certificates Dr Katie Sweeney, C.E.O. of Mayo V.E.C. spoke about the opportunity for life-long learning and how women and men should seek out opportunities to partake in education and training programmes. Furthermore, she said that women and men in rural communities should start demanding the courses that they wanted as opposed to being told what they should be doing. Moreover, she said that education and training was very important for the future of Ireland.

The Chairman of Moygownagh Community Council, Billy Heffron, closed the proceedings. He stressed the sense of pride of place in the community of Moygownagh. He reminded the audience of the value of access to quality assured education and quality premises and thanked the local community of Moygownagh in supporting the linkage of education and training in Moygownagh to other community activity. In particular he drew attention to the value of such development and looked forward to the time when small local enterprises would be part of the Moygownagh landscape.