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• ANIC Activities Invest NI and ANIC Launches Enterprising Initiative For Young People North East Institute Students Scoop Top Awards at National Plumbing Finals The North East Institute of Further and Higher Education is celebrating a magnificent win at the competitive British Plumbing Employers Council (BPEC) Plumbing Competition, held at Leicester College , England. Philip Beatty, who is employed by Rotary Services Ltd, won the Gold Medal in the Cooper Pipework category at the National BPEC Competition and the coveted title of ‘Young Plumber of the Year Award'. Further success was achieved by NEI student Neal Houston who also represented Northern Ireland in the Sheet Leadwork category and is employed by Bovlead. This is Neal's first time at the National Finals were he was awarded third prize. North West Institute Student off to Kickboxing Championship Canadian Rugby Team Visits North West Institute The Canada under 21 Rugby Team visited North West Institute this week as part of a three game tour of Ireland . The tour, which included Players, Officials and Parents, played their first game against the Ulster Colleges at City of Derry Rugby Club - this was the first time an International Rugby Team played in Derry. The Ulster Colleges Team included four North West Institute players, two of whom were Irish Colleges Internationals from last season - Sam Duffy and Stephen Corr. During their stay in the maiden city, the Canadian team attended a Civic Reception in The Guildhall with The Mayor of Derry. They also took part in a Guided Tour of Derry's Walls, along with receptions at the North West Institute and Magee College where they met with students and staff.
Omagh College will be the main centre for Co. Tyrone for ‘Children in Need' on Friday 17 th November 2006. Throughout the day entitled ‘REDTASTIC FANTASTIC AT THE OC' students will all be asked to wear red in what ever way, shape of form they feel like, in order to raise money – with the most outrageous costume winning a prize. There will also be a series of evening events taking place between 6.00 – 8.00pm.
In a bid to address lack of knowledge within the local business sector with regards to environmental awareness, Upper Bann Institute have teamed up with ARENA Network, the environmental arm of Business in the Community and Craigavon Borough Council to develop a new and innovative Environmental Management programme. Let's Hear it for The ‘A' Team at UBI At the recent British Computer Society annual audit on the 7th September 2006, UBI obtained a Grade ‘A' for its ECDL delivery and management. The Auditor, Orla O'Sullivan, commented on the very high standard of delivery and service provided by staff of the Institute. This was the first audit since UBI's three separate ECDL Centres were merged last August, and the Director has already confirmed that the ‘A' grade was in recognition of the dedication and attention to detail of the entire team, for both quality of teaching and assessment and also for the all-important database administration.
UBI in association with partner organisations has been shortlisted for no fewer than three ACE Awards. The Adult Continuing Education (ACE) Awards are run in association with the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) and EBS Building Society. The awards are open to all those involved in adult basic education, which is the development of competence in adult skills such as literacy, numeracy, ICT and communications. The awards celebrate good practice and the successful creation of high quality learning opportunities for adults. They pay tribute to those people, projects or organisations who deserve recognition for their unique contribution to adult learning. Shortlisted for an award are: 1. Rodney Hodgins (nominated by Carolyn Davison) for his innovative delivery of the Pre-Access programme at the Community Learning Centre and his use of the Teaching-Thinking techniques he developed while studying for the certificate. Rodney recognised the barriers to meaningful participation in adult education programmes by creating a learning environment conducive to study. 2. Moy Park Ltd (nominated by Susan Campbell) for their commitment to the personal development of its workforce, with particular emphasis on the development of literacy and numeracy skills for those production line workers for whom it has been recognised that a learning need exists. 3. Li Fan (nominated by Jim Cunningham) for her innovative approach to teaching through the Men on the Margins project especially in relation to the Chinese community in the local area.
The Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP, Home Secretary, has awarded Armagh College the 2006 Bronze Award for contributions to charity through the Payroll Giving Scheme. Funded by HM Government, the Payroll Giving Quality Mark recognises and rewards businesses for making Payroll Giving available to staff. The Bronze Award is a symbol of excellence, recognising that Armagh College is making a difference through Payroll Giving, benefiting good causes and employees alike.
Armagh College student, Eva Carney, has successfully completed the first round of ‘The Apprentice' and has gone through to the finals to compete for the prize of being Lord Mayor of Armagh for the day. Two students from Armagh College participated in ‘The Apprentice Councillor' which was hosted by Armagh City and District Council as part of Local Democracy Week. Belfast Institute has been selected by ‘textHELP Ltd' as the FE ‘textHELP Centre of Excellence' in Ireland. In acknowledgement of this, the college has received a complimentary copy of the new version (V8) of the software and trainers will receive training in this version. The textHELP training hosted by BIIT (Belfast Institute Inclusion Training) last year, created in excess of twenty certified textHELP trainers across the sector in Northern Ireland, seven of whom are Belfast Institute staff. As part of its centenary celebrations, the Belfast Institute has officially launched the Belfast Institute Trust. The Trust has been set up as a non-profit making organisation and will assist the Institute drive world class training and education for the people of Belfast and Northern Ireland by funding new and exciting opportunities for its students. The Trust will attract donations and private funding which can be used to provide talented students with funded opportunities to gain leading edge experiences beyond their normal course of study.
The Belfast Institute has launched a book to mark its centenary year at a ceremony held at the Institute's historic College Square Building . The book, entitled ‘Diligence and Skill', celebrates 100 years of Further and Higher Education, and has been produced by Henry Bell, a Senior Lecturer and Historian from the Institute's Department of General Education.
Castlereagh College will officially launch its newly refurbished and extended Learning Resources Centre on Monday 13 November 2006 at 10am. The guest speaker at the event is Tom Redmond, Head of Estates for Further Education Estates Branch, Department for Employment and Learning. The College has recently made a substantial investment to upgrade this learning environment for all full-time and part-time students. This level of investment has resulted in the doubling of their IT facilities which will ensure that students have access to the latest technology to aid their learning. The Royal Navy is making a flying visit to Castlereagh College on Tuesday 14 November. They will arrive in a Sea King helicopter at 9:30am, touching down on the college playing fields. Students will be given the opportunity to enter the helicopter to take a look around. The crew will also be available to provide information on possible careers in the Navy.
East Tyrone's new college and library complex has finally opened its doors to the public in Cookstown. Situated on the Burn Road , the new state-of-the-art complex offers excellent and top class facilities to serve the community and those wishing to study courses at the site.
In partnership with Dungannon Council, East Tyrone College recently hosted an evening for migrant workers in aid of 'Democracy Week'. The main aims and objectives of the evening were to raise awareness of both the right to vote and local council services.
Monday 6 th November marked the start of Anti-Racist Workplace Week in East Tyrone College . This is an initiatve which was developed by the Equality Commission and is taking place both in Northern Ireland and Ireland . It involves students and staff taking initiatives to celebrate cultural diversity in the college and to lay foundations for a workplace that is intercultural and integrated.
Congratulations to all of the middle management staff from Lisburn Institute who successfully achieved Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Certificates in Management Training. The members of Lecturing staff and staff from Corporate Services took part in the training and team building at Lusty Beg Island over the last year. Well done to: Rosalie Carson, Ian McRitchie, Gerda Wilson, Ken McKinstry, Maire McAnespie, Alex Moorehead, Karyn Eldon, Roy French, Richard Morrison, Paddy McShane, Sonya McKelvey, Eddie Forester, David McLorn, Elaine Mulholland, Gary Chambers and Marie Donnelly.
Students from Lisburn Institute are vying for the £6000 bounty that is up for grabs to one bright spark. The Institute is asking students to come up with a potential business idea and take part in a “Dragons Den” type competition in where one winner will receive a prize worth over £6000. This includes a £1000 feasibility fund (sponsored by Lisburn City Council), a Fujitsu Siemens desktop computer, mentor time to develop a business plan and a careers advice session. The Rewarding Bright Ideas Competition is open to all full and part time students at Lisburn Institute who are aged 16-24, they can apply by providing an outline of their business idea and how they see it working in today's economy, they will then be asked to participate in a discussion about their idea with a selection panel of carefully chosen business representatives. The selection panel will then select a final winner who will benefit from the extensive prize on offer. For further details please contact Muriel Tafts on (028) 9262 6751.
As part of National Enterprise Week 2006, 13-17 November, Invest Northern Ireland is organising a series of ‘enterprise lectures' at the Linen Hall Library from 12.45-1.45pm, to encourage more people to get involved in enterprise. ALP e-Learning and Technology Event The Association of Learning Providers is hosting the 3rd e-Learning and Technology Event at the MAGNA Science Adventure Centre, Rotherham on Thursday 30 November 2006 . The event aims to explore the potential of e-Learning and Technology to enhance the learner's journey and to improve business outcomes within the work-based learning sector. National Training Awards Information Seminars In order to help potential applicants with the application process for the National Training Awards, a number of free information seminars will be held during November 2006.
Click here to register.
St. Mary's University College, Belfast will be holding its second national literacy conference on Friday 1st December 2006. This exciting event is entitled 'Creating Writers'. The programme includes a range of speakers including Eve Bearne, Cambridge Univeristy; Carlo Gebler, award-winning author, film maker, producer; Trinka Messinheimer, Bowling Green State University , Ohio , USA ; David Park, renowned author. For details and information contact Donna Murray on d.murray@stmarys-belfast.ac.uk
LSDA NI will be holding a conference entitled Promoting Active Learning: a development day for ES Numeracy & Maths practitioners on Friday 17 November 2006 from 9.45am - 4 pm at the Park Avenue Hotel, Belfast. The main speaker will be Dr Malcolm Swan from the University of Nottingham.
NIACE will be holding a one day event on adult pre-entry curriculum framework training for literacy and numeracy. Building on the success of the one-day adult pre-entry Curriculum Framework courses delivered so far during 2006 and in response to continued demand, NIACE is pleased to notify that the offer of training is now being extended to Northern Ireland and will take place in Belfast 30 January 2007. The event aims to assist those whose teaching involves supporting learners at pre-entry level with their communication, literacy and numeracy skills in any post-16 context. To reserve a place and to view the programme for the event click here.
The Network Publishing Northern Ireland Conference will take place on 29 November 2006 at the Comfort Hotel, Antrim from 10.00am to 3.30pm. This free event will enable you to find out more about flexible learning as a training solution for Northern Ireland . There will also be a chance to meet with college practitioners who are currently delivering Network Publishing programmes, as well as representatives from CCEA and NCFE. The event will provide information on funding and delivery of flexible learning programmes, along with presentations from ANIC about employers' views and flexible learning from an FE sector perspective. There will also be an opportunity to view a wide range of flexible learning materials and to participate in discussion regarding the current need to up-skill the workforce within Northern Ireland. To book contact Claire Knaggs on 01904 550110 or e-mail claire.knaggs@tribalgroup.co.uk Enterprise Week 2006 Enterprise Week 2006 will run from 13th -19th November. This is an annual UK-wide week of activities inspiring people in their teens and twenties to be enterprising and to turn ideas into something real.
The Department for Employment and Learning has published the report, ‘The Essential Skills for Living: Research Evidence on Delivery'. The report describes the outcomes of research into the delivery of Essential Skills training and highlights possible future actions for continued service delivery. The Department for Employment and Learning has published the Northern Ireland Skills Monitoring Survey 2005: Summary Report. The report provides an overview of the issues connected with current vacancies, difficulties in filling vacancies, skill shortages, skill gaps and training from an employer's perspective. Get young people involved in creative thematic projects! New grants are available for joint thematic activities in all curriculum areas, with or without a language element. Project themes are flexible and the fund is designed to encourage young people to explore topics of their choice in an international context. Grants cover project resources, joint activities and reciprocal partner visits. Call for Grundtvig 3 Professional Development Proposals The British Council is calling for applications, particularly from Northern Ireland, for Grundtvig 3 opportunities (Professional Development). The programme offers a grant of up to 1,500 Euro to adult educators to go on professional development courses, conferences, work shadowing/study visits of between two days and four weeks in duration. This grant generally covers all the costs involved (travel, subsistence, course fee – where relevant – preparation costs, etc). The average length of activity chosen tends to be five-six days. Potential applicants should contact Bridgette Laws email
British Council is looking for applicants to take part in the CEDEFOP Study Visits programme in the first half of 2007. There are 31 visits to choose from focusing on various vocational education and training topics including “Developing entrepreneurship among young people”, “Competence development of older workers” and “Needs of low-skilled and disadvantaged groups”. Study Visits are open to anyone working in the field of vocational training and for further information on CEDEFOP and the application process, contact Andrea Duenschede on Tel: 020 7389 4340.
The Cinemagic Festival 2006 will take place this year from 17th November to 3rd December. To view the programme click here. If you have anything you would like included in the FE Zine,
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