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An event promoting the range of new higher level apprenticeship options available to A Level/Level 3 school leavers has been held at the Newry campus of Southern Regional College. The college in association with Newry Chamber of Commerce and Trade, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council recently hosted the “Big Apprenticeship” event providing information on the huge range of apprenticeship options on offer for those students completing their GCSEs.
If you missed the opportunity to attend why not come along to the “Big Apprenticeship” event at SRC’s Portadown Campus on Thursday 12th April from 5-8pm?
Local employers have committed to creating hundreds of new apprenticeship and higher level apprenticeship job opportunities in a wide range of areas. Students are invited with their parents/guardians to attend this information and employer showcase evening to find out more about these 'local' apprenticeship opportunities starting from September 2018. This is a perfect opportunity for parents and young people to consider more cost effective, alternative routes to achieving degree qualifications whilst working locally.
Don’t miss out, register for this event at bigapprenticeshipportadown.eventbrite.co.uk or contact The Business Support Team at SRC on 0300 123 1223.
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Southern Regional College came out as the big winners with 11 medals at Skillbuild NI National Finals with many going to Newry students. Over 70 local construction apprentices gathered their tools to compete against each other in the annual competition.
The Skillbuild NI competition is designed to test skills, technique and ability within tight timeframes in order to win coveted titles in 10 different trades ranging from brickwork to wall and floor tiling.
A total of 14 awards were presented to SRC including five gold, three silver and three bronze for individual students. SRC also received the Skillbuild NI Department of Economy Cup (for the highest number of medals won in the competition), the Skillbuild NI Chairpersons Cup (for the largest number of entries) and the Hugh Gettinby Memorial Award for Excellence in Training (awarded to an individual involved in training of young people and who has displayed the highest standards of success and dedication to the Skillbuild ethos).
Skillbuild NI is organised by CITB NI and supported by the Department for the Economy and helps to assist with maintaining and raising the status and standards of professional and technical education and training.
The competition is held annually each spring with many winners progressing further to represent Northern Ireland in the Skills Show UK and potentially at WorldSkills and is also supported by local construction employers who sponsor each trade category.
Cathal Murphy and Sean McLaughlin both from Newry received gold and silver medals respectively in Wall and Floor Tiling. Jordan Hughes from Bessbrook received a gold medal in Painting and Decorating and Michael Hughes from Lislea received a silver medal in Cabinet Making.
Maurice Johnston, Chairman CITB NI said: “Skills competitions are a very positive news story for Northern Ireland. They are a great way to showcase our vocational skills and demonstrate to employers and future investors the high standard of training provision which exists in our colleges and training organisations.
"CITB NI is proud to have been involved in construction skills competitions for over 40 years and we have a record of success at skills competitions not only on a local level but also on a regional, national and world level. The Skillbuild NI competition allows our young apprentices to demonstrate that they have the high level of skills which our economy needs to stay competitive and gives all the competitors a chance to showcase their skills.
Mr Johnston added " Congratulations to everyone who has taken part and those who have excelled in their trade. Skillbuild NI couldn’t happen without the support of the local sponsors and the training network and we extend our thanks to all who have helped the apprentices to be able to compete at this competition. Our young people are more ambitious now than ever and we hope that Skillbuild NI National Finals will be part of their journey and future careers within the construction industry.”
SRC Skillbuild Winners 2018
Brickwork 2nd Christopher Doyle – Newtownhamilton (Greenbank Campus)
Cabinet Making 2nd Michael Hughes – Lislea (Greenbank Campus)
Cabinet Making 3rd Tommy Helliwell – Markethill (Armagh Campus)
Carpentry 3rd Jamie Hughes – Rathfriland (Greenbank Campus)
Electrical Installation 1st Benjamin Martin – Killylea (Portadown Campus)
Painting and Decorating 1st Jordan Hughes – Bessbrook (Greenbank Campus)
Plastering 1st Adam Houston – Kilkeel (Greenbank Campus)
Plumbing Pipework 1st Shane Murray – Derrynoose (Armagh Campus)
Wall and Floor Tiling 1st Cathal Murphy – Newry (Greenbank Campus)
Wall and Floor Tiling 2nd Sean McLaughlin – Newry (Greenbank Campus)
Wall and Floor Tiling 3rd Odhran Connolly – Gilford (Greenbank Campus)
SRC won Skillbuild NI Chairpersons Cup for highest number of entries SRC won Skillbuild NI Department for the Economy Cup for highest number of medals won in 2018 competition Paul Doran, Tiling lecturer, won the Hugh Gettinby Trophy for Excellence in Construction Training (awarded each year to an individual involved in training of young people who has displayed high standards of success and dedication towards Skillbuild NI ethos)
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This Easter a number of pupils from St Paul's High School, Bessbrook will travel to Lourdes, for a week long pilgrimage, leaving Newry on Easter Sunday morning. Included among these are Micheal McCloy (Year 8), Aime McNally (Year 10) and Siofra Brennan (Year 11). There is a long history of students from St. Paul's travelling to Lourdes with the school, and the groups within our community.
Siofra was awarded a place on the Irish Pilgrim's group, and her form class organised a bun sale just before February half term, which was supported by students and staff alike. Siofra and her team managed to raise a whopping £700. On Tuesday, Niamh Rafferty came to school, and Siofra and Aime made the presentation on behalf of the students of St. Paul's Bessbrook.
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SRC lecturer Marilyn Warren and student Matthew McKeown have been awarded City and Guilds’ Medals of Excellence
The medals are one of the world’s most prestigious endorsements and they were presented for their achievements in digital marketing and leadership in education.
A world leader in global skills development, the City & Guilds programme recognises success amongst learners and their tutors and international competition for the sought-after recognition is intense.
Demonstrating ‘highly developed skills, outstanding knowledge and adaptability’, SRC student Matthew McKeown was awarded his Medal of Excellence for producing an innovative video about his course and his experience at the leading college.
Matthew is currently undertaking a Higher-Level Apprenticeship in Digital Marketing while gaining valuable experience within the College’s fast-paced marketing department.
SRC lecturer Marilyn Warren was also recognised by City & Guilds, receiving a coveted Medal of Excellence for not only being a champion for learning, but for her ‘enthusiasm and outstanding subject knowledge’.
Brian Doran, Chief Executive at Southern Regional College, congratulated them both on their commitment to succeed.
“City & Guilds is a global leader in skills development and its acknowledgement of the efforts of our students and staff is a wonderful achievement.
“Both Matthew and Marilyn have not only demonstrated their knowledge, talent and passion in their chosen field but also in their ability to compete and win.
“On behalf of everyone at SRC, I congratulate them both and I wish them continued success in the months and years ahead.”
The annual City & Guilds Medals for Excellence programme, which is more than 100 years old, awarded 60 medals this year to students and staff from across Ireland, the UK and around the world.
The award-winning college is currently top of Northern Ireland’s official Further and Higher Education leader board after confirming its ‘best performing’ position in an annual independent report published by the Department for the Economy NI and the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre.
SRC is the largest Further and Higher Education college outside of Belfast, with major educational facilities based in Armagh, Banbridge, Kilkeel, Lurgan, Newry and Portadown.
With over 34,000 full and part-time students, these six campuses deliver a wide range of higher level professional and technical courses.
For more information, visit www.src.ac.uk
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St Paul’s High School Netball team are the NI Premier League and Shield champions for 2018.
The Year 9 girls were victorious at the NI Cup and League Finals day in Lisburn Racquets in March beating Glenola Collegiate, Bangor 17-13 in a close fought final quarter.
This makes them double champions for 2018 which is a great achievement for the team and coach Paula O’Hare-Armstrong.
Year 12 pupil Hannah Quinn and Year 14 pupil Rose Duffy have also been selected on to the U21 Netball Northern Ireland National and Development Squads respectfully for the 2018-2019 season.
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A recent awards ceremony for students participating on the School Partnerships’ Programme (SPP) at Southern Regional College, Newry Campus saw over 150 Students from local high schools receiving presentations.
Southern Regional College welcomed Year 12 students from Kilkeel High School, Newry High School, Newtownhamilton High School, Rathore School Newry, St Joseph’s High School Crossmaglen, St Joseph’s Boys High School Newry, St Mark’s High School Warrenpoint and St Paul’s High School Bessbrook to celebrate their achievements at this special awards ceremony.
The School Partnership Programme enables Year 11 and 12 students in the school sector to sample areas including, digital imaging, joinery, beauty, hospitality, hairdressing and motor mechanics, in order to make a more informed career decision. The students on the SPP programme attend SRC one day per week for two years and achieve recognised qualifications on completion of their studies.
Guest Speaker at the event was Kelly-Anne Smyth from Newtownhamilton High School who kindly outlined her experience of the SPP programme at SRC.
SPP top student of the year went to William McBride from Newtownhamilton High School and the Endeavour award went to Sheridan Brady from St Mark’s High School, Warrenpoint.
Brian Doran, Chief Executive, Southern Regional College, commenting on the close partnership working between local schools and SRC said “The partnership between Southern Regional College and the schools in the Newry and Mourne Area Learning Community provides opportunities to pupils to benefit from a wider curriculum by undertaking a range of courses not available to them in school. The various courses lead to nationally-recognised qualifications that will not only help pupils make better career choices but will also help them get employment in the continuing challenging economic environment.”
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Students from across the six campuses of Southern Regional College (SRC) came together to celebrate their achievements at the annual Student Recognition and Further Education Awards Ceremony held recently at the Marketplace Theatre, Armagh.
The event was an opportunity for the College and senior staff to recognise and pay tribute to all SRC students who received external recognition or awards during the 2017-18 academic year.
The award winners spanned various disciplines including Sport, Business, Construction, Hairdressing and Health & Social Care. Student of the Year and Special Achievement Awards were also presented at the event.
Brian Doran, Chief Executive of SRC said: “One could not help but be impressed by the range of awards presented here today for sporting excellence, for success at regional, national and international skills competitions and for those who have represented the college in a range of external events.
The awards you have received were not easily obtained and you should feel very proud of your achievements. It is no exaggeration to say that you have been wonderful ambassadors for this college and I wish each of you every success for the future.”
If you would like further information on any of the courses offered at Southern Regional College please contact the College on 0300 123 1223, email info@src.ac.uk or visit www.src.ac.uk
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Novosco, in partnership with Ulster University are holding an innovative IT summer camp (for students aged between 16 and 17 on 30 July) between 30 July and 3 August 2018
The Novosco Cloud Camp will run at the university’s Jordanstown Campus , and it's free of charge. It will provide hands-on IT infrastructure experience, as well as a fun learning environment.
Part of the camp will take place in Ulster University’s smart environment labs, which include some of the latest smart technologies, as well as a state-of-the-art robot called Sandy.
Professional IT engineers and Ulster University lecturers will facilitate the camp, which will also involve a tour of Novosco’s Catalyst Inc headquarters to allow students to see a world-class managed cloud company in action.
In addition to free registration, all participants will be provided with a free Raspberry Pi computer to keep, as well as a lunch voucher each day. There will also be complementary transport provided from Belfast city centre to the university.
The camp will help students develop their skills in areas including hardware and operating systems, creating a virtual server, machine learning / artificial intelligence, machine vision and sensor technologies, cloud technologies and consider the ‘Internet of Things’.
To mark its third year, the number of places on the camp this year has been increased by one-third.
Novosco Managing Director, Patrick McAliskey, said: “Novosco Cloud Camp has grown and got better each year that it has taken place and we are delighted to expand the camp again this year in conjunction with Ulster University, with 40 places available. We were overwhelmed with the interest in last year’s Novosco Cloud Camp, and we anticipate even stronger interest this year. We are delighted to be working with Ulster University to help deliver the camp, which we see as an invaluable initiative for skills development in Northern Ireland. As a fast-growing managed cloud company, we are very aware of the need to encourage more of our young people to choose IT, and we believe that there is no better career than IT infrastructure.”
Ulster University School of Computing Associate Head of School, Dr Nicola Ayre said: “As Northern Ireland continues to attract global tech companies and local tech companies continue to compete on a global stage, it is imperative that we have a steady stream of qualified graduates with strong technology skills to fill the well paid positions available. The Novosco Cloud Camp in association with Ulster University aims to develop skills, raise ambitions and prepare future IT leaders by presenting the opportunity for participants to engage with our state-of-the-art robot, experiment with some of the very latest technology in our research labs and fully immerse themselves in the world of IT outside of a classroom setting.”
Novosco is a managed cloud provider with clients in the public, private and voluntary sectors across the UK and Ireland, including Premiership football teams, police forces, some of the UK’s largest health trusts and many of Northern Ireland’s top companies. Novosco employs over 180 people, mainly in Belfast.
Ulster University’s smart environments include a smart kitchen, smart bedroom and smart living room, used to support investigations into the area of assistive technologies and activity recognition.
In addition, a newly refurbished robotics laboratory is being used to investigate the development of autonomous robotics which could be used within home-based settings.
To complement this, a set of 400 sensing nodes is currently available to be deployed in a smart environment covering a footprint of over 6,800 square feet.
The university also has a multitude of mobile platforms and a recently installed mobile laboratory.
Apply on their website at WWW.NOVOSCOCLOUDCAMP.COM
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Southern Regional College students from a range of creative and technical disciplines from across all campuses took part in a STEM competition on the College’s Newry campus.
The STEM (Science, Technology, and Engineering & Mathematics) competition is an internal SRC competition which promotes student work through projects and aids in the development of transferrable skills to enhance their employability skills. The competition showcased the innovative and entrepreneurial talents of the College’s students as they presented their product, design and business ideas.
Judges who gave their time and expertise to speak the students and decide upon the overall winners of each category judged them on their ability to communicate and discuss their project and explain their employer engagement and feedback. The Judges included Joe Barron, Veterinary Extras; Tom Kinney, Invest NI; and Ally McKenzie, Sidelines Video & Film Production.
Presenting at the awards ceremony, Sharon McCone, Deputy Head of School for Creative Design & Computing at SRC commented: “This competition has run for over 6 years and is a pinnacle point for end of year work and recognition of students’ hard work. It is a pleasure to watch the talent and skills our students have and it’s a privilege to work alongside them”.
The winners included:
Overall STEM Award & Innovation Award - ‘Slieve Gullion Games’ by Dylan Hughes and Connor Tully (Level 3 Extended Diploma in Games, Animation and VFX Skills)
Engineering Award - George Hadnet (Level 3 Extended Diploma in Engineering)
Entrepreneurial Award - William Hadnet (Level 3 Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma in IT)
Team Award - Automatic Cable Reel’ (Level 3 Engineering)
Communication Award - Cara McAleenan (Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design)
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