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ANIC Statement on Lecturers' Industrial Action College employers remain committed to the improvement of pay for lecturers, which has been agreed by the employers and unions. College employers also continue to impress upon government the need for an immediate resolution to address the current industrial action by FE lecturers. Given that the matter is being progressed by government, college employers believe that the current industrial action is unhelpful as lecturers are losing pay, student learning is being disrupted and there may be long-term financial implications for the FE sector. NICIS Benchmarking Questionnaire As part of the quality assurance exercise for the Northern Ireland College Information Systems (NICIS) Project, the Project Board has commissioned a benchmarking questionnaire for completion by all staff who have access to NICIS in each of the Northern Ireland 's Further Education Colleges. As a user of NICIS in respect of student records, personnel, finance, estates, e-registers or reports in your college, we would ask you to complete this questionnaire on your college information as honestly as you see fit. The questionnaire can be accessed by clicking here. The closing date for responses is 27 October 2006, after which date one lucky respondant drawn at random will win a portable DVD player donated by BT.
A Painting & Decorating trainee from Fermanagh College , Andrew Duncan took part in European Special Olympics last week in Rome . He won a bronze in 100m and came 4th in 200m, and was the only Fermanagh participant to win.
The Princes Trust TEAM project will be running at Fermanagh College from March 2007 after a recent agreement was signed between both parties. This is a personal development programme for 16+ local people.
Fermanagh College is pioneering a new Italian Culture course – this short course covers areas such as cookery, customs, language, traditions, film and of course wine tasting! It is designed for people interested in all things Italian and follows on from a very successful Spanish Culture class piloted last year.
Limavady College 's Centre for Technology will play host a special event on Tuesday 24th October, supporting local organisations in raising awareness of better health & safety in the workplace. The Health & Safety Executive claim employees are three times more likely to be killed on a construction site in Northern Ireland than anywhere else in the UK. In association with the Chartered Institute of Building (North West), the college will hold two sessions to promote health & safety issues – the first designed especially for students and the second aimed at employers. There will also be a demonstration of the TRAD Safety Deck, which is a revolutionary new system designed to prevent fatal accidents on construction sites. These events will be of interest to lecturers and students as well as employers within the construction industry. For more information on attending either session, please contact Geri Martin on 028 777 61004.
Newry Institute held a range of events in recognition of National Construction Week. They invited members from different aspects of the Construction Industry and related professions to participate in a series of careers talks, displays and seminars showcasing the wide range of exciting opportunities available in the modern Construction Industry. In addition to in-house students the target audience included students from local schools, VEP groups and careers tutors.
Newry Institute will be holding its second Autumn Gardening Workshop on Saturday 11 th November 2006 and Saturday 18 th November 2006. Each day will be a mixture of theory and practical sessions and you will have the opportunity to discuss and explore any particular gardening problems that you may have. Classes will be held at Greenacres Horticultural Training Unit at Newry Institute Greenbank Campus, Greenbank Industrial Estate, Warrenpoint Road, Newry. Tuition fee £ 25.00
Performing Arts students from the North West Institute are proud to present ‘THE UNFAMILIAR', their long-awaited annual Halloween Production. This show follows last year's record breaking WANDA WHIZZ, and all the action begins in the Waterside Theatre, on Wednesday 25th October. Whilst conforming to the classic panto genre, the show examines such issues as bullying, not fitting in, good overcoming evil, team work and animal cruelty. Audience participation will be encouraged, with children being invited on stage to help the cast. The show will be held at the Waterside Theatre on Wednesday 25 th – Saturday 28 th October at 10.30am & 7.00pm each day. For tickets telephone the Waterside Theatre on 028 7131 4000.
NWIFHE music and performing arts students were treated to a virtuoso concert by Thomas Leeb, the 27 year-old Austrian born finger-picking guitar sensation. Rated as one of the world's foremost guitar players, Thomas was visiting Ireland to fulfil several engagements. Thomas proved to be a natural communicator, charming his young audience with off-the-cuff anecdotes and asides. In a programme of innovative arrangements and atmospheric original pieces, he never stood still as he created hypnotic and infectious rhythms through slapping and drumming on every part of the instrument while weaving textures of melody and chords in what sounded scarcely possible for one man to produce.
Omagh College will host the CCEA Art Exhibition for the second year running from Monday 20 th November to Friday 1 st December. This exhibition displays GCSE and A-Level art work from students in the west of the province. The event is designed to be a ‘celebration of art', and will undoubtedly contain many high quality creations. All visitors are welcome. For further information contact: Clair McKenna Tel: (028) 8224 5433 or e-mail clair.mckenna@omagh.ac.uk
Laura Mathers, National Awards in Media student at Omagh College , recently appeared on the popular UTV show The X-Factor. Laura took part in the Dublin heat but unfortunately for Laura, celebrity judge Sharon Osbourne was not on the panel for her audition. Laura said; “It was a brilliant but nerve racking experience and it was really scary standing before Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh. I missed Sharon …. but I will be back next year.” Unfortunately Laura did not make it through to the next round, but her determination to succeed in the music industry remains.
Upper Bann Institute has been working in partnership with Institutes from Newry and Dundalk over the past three years in the submission of an application for EU funding to assist in an ambitious, regionally-based pilot for Pre-Incubation (Business Start Up for Students or Staff). After many years it has been announced by the EU funding body that this application has been successful . The project has been named ‘Border Innovation Gateway' (BIG) and aims to catalyse a change in the creation of high technology, high growth businesses in the East Border Region (defined as Counties Louth , Armagh & South Down ). This project is a first for Ireland and will mean that a range of opportunities, facilities and mentoring will be available to students and staff from each Institute who wish to start up a business. The project will also draw on the individual strengths from each third level Institute and will create a powerful network of three delivery points throughout the defined region (Dundalk , Newry, Banbridge and Craigavon). Border Innovation Gateway has three main aims:
Upper Bann Institute in partnership with Newry Institute and Armagh College has developed a new programme aimed specifically at women called The EDGE. This programme offers comprehensive business start up and management development coaching, mentoring and accreditation for female entrepreneurs and managers. The main aims of the programme are:
Lord Morrow Visits Armagh College Lord Maurice Morrow of Clogher Valley choose Armagh College as his first official engagement since being appointed to the Peerage. Lord Morrow commented ‘ I am most impressed with this education facility and its dedicated staff, who quite clearly have the interests of students of all ages, at their primary focus. In addition, I am encouraged at the strong emphasis placed on Lifelong Learning, which is hugely relevant at this time with the dissolution of age discrimination. It is a welcome addition, particularly to the lives of senior citizens, and these advantageous courses will see them develop further, and capable of accomplishing more'.
Armagh College congratulated Essential Skills Learners at a special presentation evening at the college on Wednesday. Learners from the community, workforce and college were presented with Certificates which were accredited with a CCEA qualification. Helena O'Neill was one of the Essential Skills learners who was awarded on the evening. Helena brought her three children Colm, Jo and Tommy along to help her celebrate. Helena commented ‘I have really enjoyed my learning experience at Armagh College . It was a big step to take and one that has really benefited my every day life. Armagh College has given me a new confidence and the boys are so proud of me'.
Rita McGuigan, Head of Essential Skills at Armagh College was interviewed on UTV Life on Monday evening talking about Essential Skills and the learning opportunities at the College. Cameras also went to the home of College Learner and Life Award nominee Rhonda Weir. Rhonda spoke of the importance of her education and qualifications achieved at the College in improving the quality of life for both her and her family.
Castlereagh College student Connor Hanna has recently returned from a successful visit to Rome , where he competed in the European Youth Games, Special Olympics. Connor, who studies on the Steps to Employment – Life and Work Skills programme at the college, took part in five individual Gymnastics events and produced a string of superb performances which earned him an impressive medal tally of two golds, two silvers and a bronze.
Castlereagh College is teaming up with Cinemagic to host their talent labs for their forthcoming 2006 Film Festival which launched on 21st September with a special preview screening of Barnyard (Nickelodeon) in STORM Cinemas at the Odyssey Pavilion, Belfast.
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.
NIACE will be holding a conference on 15 November 2006 in Sheffield which will look at the role of adult learning in helping to equip rural communities, employers and individuals to meet the challenges of change in effective, sustainable and creative ways. In addition, the event will showcase findings from NIACE's on-going development project, 'Learning, Employment and Rural Need', and all delegates will receive a copy of the project's forthcoming policy-focused publication, Landscapes of Change. Network Publishing Northern Ireland Conference 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
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.
Have You Made A Short Film? Would You Like To See Your Film Screened In The Cinema? Cinemagic is looking for imaginative and original films made by young people to be screened as part of CINEMAGIC YOUNG FILMMAKER 2006 in association with First Light . The films can be about anything at all fact or fiction, comedy or drama, news programme or documentary. A prize will be awarded for best film - the winning entry will be screened during next year's CINEMAGIC WORLD SCREEN FESTIVAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE in December 07. The competition is open to anyone aged 25 and under from the UK and Ireland . Simply send a VHS or DVD of your film with details of cast and crew and a short synopsis by FRIDAY 3rd November 2006 . Films should be no longer than 20 minutes. Entries should be sent to CINEMAGIC YOUNG FILMMAKER 2006, Cinemagic, 49 Botanic Avenue , Belfast BT7 1JL. For more information contact Chris Shaw at chris@cinemagic.org.uk
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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