15 December, 2017

On December 15th in the Council Chamber at CIT the Department of Process, Energy and Transport Engineering (PET) made awards to students who successfully completed the Department’s 2016/17 Springboard programmes. Awards were made in the • Diploma in Biopharma Manufacturing Operations • Certificate in Biopharma Processing • Certificate in the Science of Biotechnological Manufacturing Operations • Certificate in Cleanroom Manufacturing Practices

The Springboard Programme was originally targeted at those unemployed as a result of the financial crisis and it has proved very successful in giving people the skills required to get them back into the workforce quickly. Springboard + has been expanded to allow people in industry to upskill in areas of recognised skills shortages both at National and Regional level. Specifically the 2017/18 programme opened funded programmes to those employed in either the Medical Device or the Biopharmaceutical industries. Funded through the HEA by the Departments of finance, Education and Jobs and Enterprise, last year saw 4,537 places funded last year with a breakdown of 46% each for employed and unemployed with the remainder (about 7.4%) made up of the category ‘Returners’, those returning to work after a voluntary period out of the workforce.

The 2018 programme will see a series of targeted programmes being approved for funding based on their relevance to industry and there will be no restriction on the eligibility of those employed in any industry although the original targeted categories of unemployed, the former self-employed and returners will be given priority.

All courses to date have been free although the 2018 programme will likely involve a nominal 10% charge for those already in employment. The PET department is very focused to supplying graduates to the vibrant bio pharma and medical tech cluster within the region and beyond having anticipated the specific skillset demanded by the biopharma/medtech sectors. Its Springboard offerings have been hugely successful with 90% of participants securing employment in areas such as manufacturing, quality assurance and validation.

For a full list of CIT’s Springboard and ICT Skills offerings click here http://www.cit.ie/springboard For Springboard Courses in the Department of Process, Energy and Transportation contact michael.jomahony@cit.ie