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Belfast Metropolitan College student, Majella Shields from Newry has been offered a charitable scholarship to help develop and enhance her skills whilst studying for a BSc (Hons) in Fashion Management.
Majella was a lucky recipient of the Belfast Met Trust’s annual Scholarship Scheme and received financial funding from the Trust to enable her to take part in a business course at Saint Bonaventure University, New York, and an internship in a fashion house in Manhattan.
With the Trust’s assistance, the budding fashion designer will soon commence her year of study at the American university where she hopes to expand her business skills, something that she will find useful in her future fashion career. The 21 year old will also be participating in an internship at a leading fashion house in the heart of New York City.
Majella commented on winning her scholarship award “I was absolutely delighted to receive the scholarship from Belfast Met Trust, as I realise it is a very competitive scheme with high volumes of students applying for support. The course at Saint Bonaventure University will be a fantastic learning opportunity for me and my internship will give me great insight into my future career in the fashion industry. I am thankful to Belfast Met Trust for providing me with the opportunity to develop my skills beyond the normal course of study.”
Marie-Thérèse McGivern, Principal and Chief Executive of Belfast Metropolitan College, added “Through Belfast Met’s scholarship scheme, we award talented, committed students with a passion for excellence in their chosen field and a desire to gain additional experience beyond their normal course of study. With the Trust’s financial support, each scholarship student is able to develop and enhance their experience and ability, which in turn helps to build a highly skilled workforce in Northern Ireland.”
Belfast Metropolitan College Trust was established in 2006 and supports development opportunities and facilities for students. The Trust is a registered charity which raises donations from businesses and individuals to provide financial support for talented students to gain leading edge experiences beyond their normal course of study.
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If you are 16 to 19 and would like to take part in a 30 week life changing experience you should apply for the Fresh Start course starting in September at SRC in Newry and Portadown.
The 30 week full time course will commence 23rd September 2013.
Entry Criteria
Interview – To determine motivation, suitability and desire to complete the course.
Who is the course for?
Targeted at educational underachievers and those with social and behavioural barriers aged 16-19, who are not yet ready for Level 2 or a mainstream course
Content
Fresh Start provides a foundation for those wanting to engage in education and who need to build on confidence, self-esteem and interpersonal skills. It also presents students with an opportunity to develop skills in career planning and interview techniques, while sampling a range of employment sectors and completing a work placement.
Qualifications on offer
OCR Level 1 Award Personal Life Skills
OCR Level 1 Certificate Employability Skills
Range of bite size courses to aid holistic development
Essential Skills
Contact Stephen Ferris for more information by email to ferriss@src.ac.uk or by mobile to 077 6711 7384
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Southern Regional College hosted Students from across their six campuses to celebrate their achievements at the annual Student Recognition Awards Ceremony.
The event was an opportunity for the College Governing Body and senior staff to recognise and pay tribute to all SRC students who received external recognition or awards during the 2012-13 academic year. The award winners spanned various disciplines including Sport, Construction, Floristry and Health & Social Care.
Students from the Newry Campus were recognised for their outstanding achievement at this year’s Skillbuild when they returned with an unprecedented 15 awards. The SRC trainees picked up 13 awards in various skills area including 5 Gold, 5 Silver and 3 Bronze, as well as winning the Skillbuild NI Chairpersons Cup (most competitors to qualify for the regional finals) and the Skillbuild NI DEL Cup (winners of the medals league table).
The Girls Hockey Team, Armagh Campus were recognised for being winners of the final of the McDowell Cup against Ballyclare High School. The Boys Gaelic Team were awarded for their tremendous success throughout the academic year. In September they won the Ulster Further Education 7’s, they then went on to win the Ulster Magee Cup in November and the All Ireland Higher Education Division 3 League in December. The high point of the year came in February when they were successful in winning the All Ireland Corn Na Mac Lien Championship.
A number of Floristry students from Lurgan Campus were recognised for their achievements in the NI heat of the UK Skills Competition at Greenmount. Marion Magee was awarded first place in the advanced section and Anne Lavery, Roslyn Millar and Elaine Groves received first, second and third places respectively in the Intermediate Section. Darragh Loughran and Klaudia Lisek were recognised for winning their respective categories in the STEM BEST Awards.
Individual award winners included Jacqueline McCaughey who was recognised for winning the prestigious VQ Learner of the Year Award, George Haugh who was acknowledged for jointly winning the Essential Skills County Armagh Award, Nikita Harron who recently secured 2nd place at the WorldSkills UK Caring Competition and Jamie Maxwell who was NI Travel Student of the Year.
Commenting after the event, Mr Brian Doran, Chief Executive of SRC remarked: “The list of achievements this evening was exceedingly impressive and highlighted the success the College has had on both a local and national level”.
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Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill today visited St Colman's College to congratulate two award winning students.
Niall Murphy, winner of the NI Sentinus Young Engineer award, and Matthew McConville, Farmer of the Year Award winner, were praised by the Minister during a visit to the College.
Niall’s ‘Unreel’ multipurpose device which attaches to a tractor and rolls up lay-flat hoses and wire fencing, was selected as the overall winner in the Young Innovators competition which promotes engagement in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The Mullaghbawn student will now go forward to the ‘Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers’ competition to be held in Birmingham NEC in 2014.
The Farmer of the Year Award, presented to Rathfriland student Matthew McConville, is a new award introduced in St Colman’s, highlighting the strong links that many of the pupils have with the agricultural industry.
Speaking during her visit, Minister O’Neill commended the quality of entries for the competition. She said: “This is an excellent project which highlights the maturing age of farmers in our agricultural industry and the need for young people to enter the industry. It is very encouraging to visit a school like St Colman’s to hear about the strong interest that pupils have in farming and to see how they are being supported to develop these interests.”
The Minister also viewed agricultural equipment created by pupils for their technology project and commended them for their innovative designs.
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Noise Action Week is an annual national campaign which aims to raise awareness of the impact of excessive noise on communities and individuals and highlight possible solutions.
To coincide with Noise Action Week 2013 Officers from Newry and Mourne District Council’s Environment, Health and Building Services Department visited a number of secondary schools in the District between 20th and 25th May 2013, to raise awareness of the dangers of premature hearing loss due to the use of personal music players. As part of the presentation students were able to have their I pods and mp3 players tested to ensure the level they are listening to is safe.
Deputy Mayor Councillor Packie McDonald attended one of the presentations and is pictured with Year 9 students from the Sacred Heart Grammar School. Also pictured is Sinead Trainor Senior Environmental Health Officer and Geography teacher Mrs Brennan.
Participating schools were St Mary’s High School, Sacred Heart Grammar School, St Paul’s High School, St Louis Grammar School, Newtownhamilton High School and St Mark’s High School.
For further information on noise nuisance please visit the following websites www.newryandmourne.gov.uk/environment/Health/Environmental_Protection/Noise_Nuisance.aspx
or contact the Environment Health and Building Services Department of the Council on 028 3031 3100
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Darragh Loughran and Klaudia Lisek, students at Southern Regional College were recently recognised at the third annual Business & Education through Skills & Training (BEST) Awards. Over 100 college students from across Northern Ireland competed for the Awards, organised by Colleges NI, at the Armagh City Hotel. The BEST Awards celebrate the creative and innovative talent within Northern Ireland’s six Regional Colleges in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Darragh Loughran an Engineering student at Newry Campus won the overall prize for 16-18 year old category and Klaudia Lisek, a second year HND Graphic Design student at Lurgan Campus won the overall prize in the over 18 category.
Dr Stephen Farry who presented the awards said: “The BEST Awards has established itself as the annual showcase for STEM talent within colleges and I have been greatly impressed by the high standards shown by all the entries. I hope that many of the people here today continue to be inspired by these subjects and go on to have a successful career in this sector in Northern Ireland”.
The competition focuses on the application of STEM knowledge across a broad range of disciplines including engineering, science, creative media, built environment and software.
Colleges NI Chief Executive Gerry Campbell said: “The standard and quality of entries in this year’s competition is a testament to the creativity and innovation in our Colleges. Our students will go on to be the innovators, creators and business leaders of tomorrow. I also want to pay tribute to all those hard working and dedicated staff in our Colleges who have supported the participants and contributed so much to enriching the learning experience of their students.”
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Castlewellan girl Anna Pawlowska has had her achievement recognised at the prestigious Apprentice of the Year Awards where she was winner in the Recognition Award category. Anna, 25, is following an apprenticeship in Health and Social Care at Southern Regional College, Newry Campus and is employed by Corriewood Private Clinic in Castlewellan.
The awards ceremony, organised by the Department for Employment and Learning, was held in Belfast’s Holiday Inn and was hosted by TV presenter Claire McCollum. The Recognition Award is presented to the apprentice who has overcome challenges or obstacles and who through personal determination has achieved skills and qualifications during their time on ApprenticeshipsNI.
Congratulating the winners, the Department for Employment and Learning’s Permanent Secretary Alan Shannon said: “The Apprentice of the Year Awards are testimony to the real skills and talent Northern Ireland has to offer. Apprenticeships play a vital role in ensuring that we have a better skilled, modern and dynamic workforce to drive our economy forward. Apprenticeships work for both businesses and individuals, providing companies with a skilled workforce to help them grow and giving individuals such as Anna both hands-on experience and qualifications.”
Speaking about her success, Anna said: “Since commencing my apprenticeship I have developed both personally and professionally. Approximately three years ago I started working in the area of care, since then I have worked to develop skills in this area, undertaking studies in Dementia Awareness, Epilepsy Awareness, Health and Safety and First Aid. When the opportunity to complete the Apprenticeship scheme was offered by my manager I knew I had the determination and commitment to achieve.”
Teresa McClean from Corriewood Private Clinic in Castlewellan said: “Anna is an excellent member of the team in the care setting, based in the area of learning disability. Anna commenced employment in 2010 and since then has continually developed skills in care. Anna is worthy of this award as she is committed to the caring profession and the clients in her care.”
Mairead Ruddle from Southern Regional College in Newry said: “Anna is an inspiration, she is motivational and enthusiastic. Anna has engaged fully in her programme of study and approaches personal development in a professional manner.”
There are over 9,000 apprentices currently in training in Northern Ireland. All are following a training framework developed with the relevant industry sector, which includes attainment of a Vocational Qualification, a technical certificate and if necessary specified essential skills.
The Apprentice of the Year competition is open to those currently on the Department for Employment and Learning’s Apprenticeships programmes and showcases excellence in apprenticeship training.
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Students from Southern Regional College recently took part in a conservation programme on the canal, building nest boxes with wood donated by Haldane Fisher in Portadown, and installing them at different points along the Newry Canal.
The work was completed as a joint venture between SRC and the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI) Partnership as part of the canal restoration project.
For more information on the project, please check the IWAI Newry/Portadown Facebook page, or contact branch secretary Geraldine Foley on 079 8119 3481.
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Hannah Catterall, a 1st year student on the Extended Diploma in Art & Design at Southern Regional College, Newry Campus, recently entered a digital photography exhibition and was awarded the Champions prize in the Action Category for an Electronic Image.
Hannah is a member of the Exmoor Pony Society and frequently shows ponies at events across Ireland. Her love for ponies is what gained her the prize as her work captured the elegant movement of a pony trotting across the shore.
Judges at the competition commented: “We liked everything about this photograph! Spot on for its category, unusual subject and technically excellent.”
Hannah was also awarded Supreme Champion in the overall photographic competition and received a trophy, rosettes, certificates and prize money of £50, as well as an enlargement of the prize winning photograph.
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