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Southern Regional College received funding from the EU to deliver an ‘Innovation and Exchange of Good Practice for Adult Learning’ project. In conjunction with international partners in the Republic of Ireland, Latvia, Italy and Sweden, the project partnership will develop an on-line equality and diversity programme supporting migrant, refugee and asylum seeker communities.
Mickey Brady MP welcomed the international partners to SRC and explained that the funding was secured by SRC under The European Union's Erasmus+ programme which is a funding scheme to support activities in the fields of Education, Training, Youth and Sport.
To date SRC has provided opportunities for 221 students to avail of mobility placements and have secured funding to enable a further 170 students and 41 staff to undertake mobilities in 2018/19. As a result of this work SRC leads the sector as the largest provider of Erasmus+ VET mobilities.
Under the current new project ‘Innovation and Exchange of Good Practice for Adult Learning’ SRC will work together with organisations from different participating countries, to develop, share and transfer best practices and innovative approaches in the fields of education, training and youth.
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Southern Regional College Gaelic football teams recently travelled to compete in the prestigious Ulster Colleges Competition at the Mid Ulster Sports Arena in Cookstown. The teams were made up from students from Armagh and Newry campuses. The competition was tough on the day from the other regional colleges in Ulster but SRC lead the way when it came to the final of both competitions.
The SRC men’s team came home with silverware as winners of the Ulster Colleges Shield at the 7 a side competition. Unbeaten on the day and having played against 4 other college teams the SRC players and their management team of Rory McGreevy, Stephen Ferris and Darragh Peden faced a strong NRC team in the final and in a hard fought battle that entered extra time a late goal proved decisive and the talented side were Champions of the day.
In their competition the SRC ladies team also made the final, against NWRC. The game was very competitive throughout with both teams exchanging scores early on. In the end it came down to the last attack, after a rebound NWRC scored a goal despite the best efforts of the SRC defence and goal keeper, to steal the win. The girls and the management team Maeve Galloway and Aileen Pyers can be very proud of themselves after strong performances all day.
Both teams had to endure poor playing conditions, with strong ice wind and driving rain but this didn’t compromise the student’s abilities or determination to compete with the best in Ulster. This was a terrific achievement for the first competition of the year and the quality shown throughout the tournament by the two SRC teams involved is something the team will look to replicate in the Colleges League competition starting this month.
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Newry, Mourne and Down Council Chairperson, Councillor Roisin Mulgrew has hosted a visit of twelve school children, classes P4 to P7 from St Mary’s Primary School, Barr recently at the Council Offices, Newry.
The students expressed their interest to visit the Council Chamber as they have set up their own School Council, which to date has tackled issues on littering and anti-bullying.
Councillor Roisin Mulgrew said, “I was delighted to welcome the young children from St Mary’s Primary School as it was a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn about the various departments within the Council. Visits like this help the young students gain knowledge and understand the civic role the Council plays.”
Councillor Mulgrew continued, “I would like to thank Principal Paul Shields, Ms Sinead King and Ms Olive McConville for taking time out of their busy schedules to facilitate the visit.”
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The Southern Regional College has been awarded the Matrix Quality Standard Award for Student Services,in a first for Northern Irish Further and Higher education colleges.
Assessed under four elements, Leadership & Management; Resources; Service Delivery and Continuous Quality Improvement, SRC received the full recognition of the Matrix Quality standard thanks to the information, advice and guidance (IAG) that the college provides to its students.
Over a 3-day period, assessors met and spoke with staff, students and external partners of the college to evaluate them against the unique Matrix Quality Standard. After comments such as ‘well informed students,’ ‘impressive resources,’ knowledgeable staff’ and ‘very strong in partnerships’, SRC received the quality mark for exceeding the required standards for this accreditation.
Lorraine McKeown, Assistant Director for Student Services and Marketing at SRC said “We are delighted to obtain the Matrix Quality standard which epitomises the excellence in the service we provide to our students. The Matrix Standard encouraged us as a College to review and reflect upon our provision, especially in regard to how we communicate and deliver services to our students, partners and stakeholders.
The assessment enabled us to review and develop our IAG practice within a context of continuous improvement, as well as improving our understanding of current good practice to ensure we remain up to date."
The Matrix Quality Standard is a unique quality standard for organisations to assess and measure their advice and support services, which ultimately supports individuals in their choice of career, learning, work and life goals.
Departments involved in this assessment were Marketing, Student Activities, Complaints, Learning Support, Student Finance, Careers and Learning Resources Centres.
SRC already held the Matrix Quality Standard for their Careers Advice and Guidance Services.
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Fourteen Southern Regional College students are in preparation to compete at the National Finals of the WorldSkills UK Competitions at the Skills Show in Birmingham.
Having battled through the national qualifiers and completed months of intensive training, 14 skilled young apprentices and students from SRC have now made it through to the final showdown in front of 70,000 spectators at The Skills Show at the NEC, Birmingham in November.
500 of the finest apprentices and students from right across the UK have been selected to compete at this event. With 14 competitors selected, SRC has the highest number from any college or training provider within Northern Ireland.
The Skills Show is the UK’s largest apprenticeship, careers and skills event - hosting the National Finals of the WorldSkills UK Competitions, bringing together the UK’s leading employers, colleges and training providers.
The eventual victors will be the UK’s No.1 in their chosen skill, and may be eligible for selection to represent the nation at WorldSkills Kazan 2019. The competitions, which are run in partnership with organisations from industry and education, are regulated and powered by WorldSkills UK, which takes a radical approach to hothousing young talent to inspire the next generation and power UK industry post Brexit. WorldSkills UK, funded by business and government, utilises the training and performance models of elite sport to optimise skills at the highest level.
Southern Regional College students who will be competing at the Skills Shows are: Niamh Leonard from Mowhan who was selected to compete in Beauty Therapy-Body and Lauren McMahon from Warrenpoint in Media Make Up-Body. Victoria Black from Dromore will be competing in the Forensic Science category.
In the Culinary Arts category, Ryan Finnegan from Dundrum has been selected and for Restaurant Service, Kieran Cleverley from Newry will compete.
Six students from across the UK have been selected to compete in the Butchery competition, with SRC students making up half of these competitors - James Gracey from Dromore, Martin Naan from Enniskillen and Joseph O’Gorman from Mowhan.
In Plastering and Drywall Systems, Glenn McArdle from Bessbrook will be competing. For Joinery, Richard Shannon from Kilkeel has been selected and Tommy Helliwell from Tandragee has been selected for Cabinet Making.
There were eight students selected from within the UK to compete in Wall and Floor Tiling, three of which are from SRC- Daniel McBurney from Banbridge, Sean McLoughlin from Newry and Cathal Murphy from Newry.
Mr. Brian Doran, Chief Executive at Southern Regional College commented: “We are absolutely delighted that 14 of our trainees and apprentices have been selected to participate at the UK Skills Show, an event which showcases the very best talent from across the UK. Southern Regional College has the largest number of participants selected to compete from any college in Northern Ireland and this is a testament not only to the skill level of our participants but also to the support and professionalism of their lecturers. I wish each of our participants every success at the Skills Show in Birmingham.”
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Southern Regional College apprentice Kieran Magee has been chosen from a vast selection of impressive candidates to be crowned UK Apprentice of the Year at the Federation of Master Builder Awards. The awards celebrate the best of the best in the UK construction industry with the winners decided by a team of leading experts. Nick Knowles, building enthusiast and TV presenter, presented Kieran with his coveted prize at the glittering awards ceremony which was held at the Intercontinental Hotel Park Lane in London.
Kieran, who works as a self-employed wall and floor tiling specialist in Mayobridge, was selected as the national champion for his tireless professionalism, high standard of workmanship and positive attitude towards his studies.
He stood out from the competition due to his strong commitment to personal development, progression within his chosen trade and dedication to his clients. As well as being self-employed, running a successful business and preparing for national competitions outside of working hours, Kieran is up at the crack of dawn to help out on his family’s dairy farm.
Kieran has completed the Level 3 Wall and Floor Tiling course at the College’s Greenbank Campus in Newry. He is no stranger to awards and has previously achieved gold medals at NI Skillbuild and WorldSkills UK as well as being awarded the Tile Association Trainee of the Year and the Montgomery Award.
Kieran was nominated for the UK Apprentice of the Year at the Federation of Master Builder Awards by CITB representative David Cooper. David saw Kieran as being a shining example for the apprenticeship programme.
He explained; “Kieran is another highly skilled and motivated apprentice wall and floor tiler to emerge from Southern Regional College. His achievements are commendable and are worthy of recognition as amongst the best in the UK. His vocational ability, alongside his obvious work ethic are attributes that will pay dividends for Kieran in the future. His membership of the UK squad and his progression towards team selection for WorldSkills 2017 is a reflection of his potential to represent the UK at the highest level in vocational competitions.”
The Federation of Master Builders believes firmly in supporting businesses that invest in the future workforce by taking on and training apprentices and Kieran is a shining example of the benefits of investing in young builders and tradespeople. His attitude and tireless efforts matched with good humour make him a very worthy winner of the UK Apprentice 2017 title.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Kieran has continually demonstrated exceptional commitment and determination to excel, and is a great example to others. We encourage all construction firms to train an apprentice if they aren’t doing so already. Not only will higher levels of apprenticeship training help solve the skills crisis, it will also provide more young people with an opportunity to begin a rewarding career in construction. Two-thirds of all construction apprentices are trained by SME firms like the ones represented by the FMB, and we must continue our proud history of training if we are to meet the increasing demand for new homes, schools, hospitals and transport infrastructure.”
Mr. Brian Doran, Chief Executive at Southern Regional College commented: “This is a truly remarkable achievement for Kieran and I am really delighted that his hard work, dedication, commitment and skill has been recognised yet again. For Kieran to have been awarded The Northern Ireland Apprentice of the Year was a great achievement in its own right but now to be crowned the UK winner also, this is a true testament to Kieran as a highly skilled professional within his craft as he has triumphed over many other highly skilled apprentices from throughout the UK. I would also like to congratulate Paul Doran, SRC floor and wall tiling tutor, who has mentored and guided Kieran through the regional and national competitions over the past number of years.”
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Southern Regional College’s Greenbank Campus student Armondas Tamulis is currently in training for the upcoming WorldSkills competition scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi next month.
After winning a gold medal in the WorldSkills UK Competitions National Finals in Wall and Floor Tiling, Armondas successfully secured a place to represent Team UK at WorldSkills.
When Armondas travels to compete in Abu Dhabi at the start of October, he will have to create three complex pieces from drawings, including the Abu Dhabi skyline and the United Arab Emirates emblem, all within a tight timescale of 22 hours. He will be up against the best competitors from 26 other countries from right across the globe and the winning project must show finesse, accuracy and craftsmanship.
He recently returned from an event in Denmark where he trained alongside apprentices from India, Hungary, Belarus, Russia and Denmark - all of whom he will be competing against in Abu Dhabi. The competition was very high at this event and proved to be a good opportunity to benchmark his skills against the other apprentice competitors. Although each competitor is focussed on winning the gold medal, they are all united by their love of their trade and have been backed by the industry in their respective countries. Armondas has been generously supported along the way by Schlűter-Systems, Johnson Tiles, BAL, RUBI UK and The Tile Association which has greatly assisted him in his training and development.
When Armondas started his apprenticeship with DLP Tiling and Southern Regional College, he immediately showed great dedication when he made the daily 40-minute commute from his home in Portadown to the SRC Greenbank Campus in Newry to learn his trade.
He was encouraged to enter the CITBNI SkillBuild Competitions by his lecturer Paul Doran, who is now his training expert and mentor for WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. From taking part in these competitions, Armondas could see how competing can help enhance the technical training he learned as an apprentice as well as giving him the opportunity to develop other attributes including good team work and communication skills, all of which is needed to be successful in the construction industry.
Armondas said; “I can’t remember the last weekend I had when I wasn’t practicing my tiling skills. But putting my social life on hold is a small price to pay as I vie for the title of ‘World’s Best Tiler’. Even now, I have to pinch myself as I say that. If someone had told me when I first started on the Southern Regional College’s Schools Partnership Programme that I would end up representing the UK in the Wall and Floor Tiling category, I wouldn’t have believed them! This programme was my first introduction to tiling and I immediately loved it. I decided there and then that this was the career for me.”
He goes on to say; “My training programme for this international skills competition is intense - from fitting my training around my work commitments to overhauling my diet and fitness regime to ensure that I can perform to the best of my ability. Everything I do is geared towards delivering a world beating performance at Abu Dhabi! Success at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 would personally mean the world to me. But I want to use my competition experience to show young people just how far an apprenticeship in construction can take you.”
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Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School students, John Cosgrove and Cathal Doran, and New-Bridge Integrated College student, Amy Jordan, receive their certificates for successfully completing the prestigious Novosco Cloud Camp in association with Almac Group from Jonathan Graham, Almac Group and Patrick McAliskey, Novosco Managing Director.
Novosco Cloud Camp, which is organised by Novosco and supported by Almac Group, took place at Belfast Metropolitan College’s Titanic Quarter Campus in August.
The five-day summer camp, which was free to students aged 16-17 who are enrolled at schools and colleges throughout Northern Ireland, provided first-hand experience in the management and development of IT infrastructure in a fun learning environment.
Professional IT engineers and Belfast Met lecturers facilitated the camp, which also included a tour of Novosco’s headquarters at Catalyst in Belfast to allow students to see a world-class managed cloud company in action.
In addition to free registration, all participants were provided with a free Raspberry Pi computer to keep.
Areas covered at the Novosco Cloud Camp included: networking, Python programming, basic HTML programming, and creating virtual servers.
Novosco Managing Director, Patrick McAliskey, said: “Cloud Camp was a real success in 2016 and again we had a big response this year in terms of applicants, making 2017 a thriving success too. We know that there is demand for IT skills in Northern Ireland and that this will grow. But it is evident from the registrations we’ve had in Cloud Camp that there is also real interest in IT careers.
“At Novosco we work hard to develop and retain the expertise we have, but with that comes the responsibility to support the development of the generation of IT infrastructure engineers, skilled programmers and future developers. The Novosco Cloud Camp is just one part of our commitment to supporting the future of the industry and growing the talent pool in Northern Ireland.
“We were delighted to be able to work with Almac Group and Belfast Met once again, who too share our commitment to developing the skills of the future in Northern Ireland.”
Andrew Hillis, Group Head of Information Services at Almac Group, commented: “Providing an extensive range of integrated services to the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors globally is built upon sound IT infrastructure. Some of the skills that young people are learned last week at Cloud Camp are crucial to the day-to-day operations of our international organisation. We’re thrilled to have played our part alongside Novosco to stimulate interest in IT and encourage potential future employees.”
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.
Belfast Metropolitan College’s Principal and CEO, Marie-Thérèse McGivern, added: “It was a privilege to once again host the Novosco Cloud Camp, in partnership with Almac Group, this summer at our Titanic Quarter Campus.
“The college has a rich history in delivering comprehensive courses in ICT and guiding students along the path to future employment for some of Northern Ireland’s leading companies. It was a pleasure to welcome this year’s students to the campus and to support them on their informative journey with our excellent facilities and top-class lecturers who worked alongside Novosco’s talented IT infrastructure engineers.”
Employing 150 people, Novosco has offices in Belfast, Manchester, Dublin, and Cork.
For more information on the Novosco Cloud Camp, in partnership with Almac Group, visit www.novoscocloudcamp.com
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The provinces best performing college, Southern Regional College with a campus in PAtrick Street in Newry recently celebrated it's 10th birthday.
In August 2007 16 further and higher education colleges merged to create six new area based ‘super colleges.’ The birth of Southern Regional College incorporated the merger of the previously known Armagh College, Newry and Kilkeel Institute and Upper Bann Institute of Further and Higher Education.
Southern Regional College (SRC), deemed ‘Best Performing College’ for a second year running in a report prepared by the Ulster University, has gone from strength to strength during this 10-year period.
From 2007/08 to 2016/17, SRC has reached the 334,231 enrolment mark of which 18,464 enrolments are higher education and 32,144 are apprenticeships.
Brian Doran, Chief Executive at Southern Regional College said “Over the last decade, we have seen thousands of students come through our doors at SRC to experience quality further and higher education. We are delighted to continue to play a key role in transforming people’s lives and providing them with many course pathways and options to ensure that they can reach their full potential. As the largest provider of integrated education in the region, SRC strives to continually build a strong educational future and focus across Armagh and Down, with three new landmark campuses planned for Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon. We are certainly very excited about the next 10 years and to be able to continue to build upon our success.”
For more information about Southern Regional College and the range of courses on offer, please visit: www.src.ac.uk or Tel: 0300 1231223
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