Expansion of apprenticeship course offerings in GMIT
€1.8m HEA funding awarded for expansion of electrical apprentice course at Galway campus and
new wood manufacturing & finishing apprentice course at Letterfrack
GMIT has secured circa €1.8 m from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to increase its number of apprenticeship courses at its Galway (Dublin Road) and Letterfrack campuses from September 2021.
The funding will allow for an increase in places on GMIT’s electrical apprenticeship courses in the Galway city campus and the delivery of a new wood manufacturing & finishing apprenticeship course from the GMIT Letterfrack campus in Connemara.
Welcoming the funding allocation, James Boyle, newly appointed Head of Department of Engineering Apprenticeships, says: “it is very positive news for GMIT and for communities in the West of Ireland. GMIT plans to double its electrical apprenticeship student numbers within the next 12 months to become one of the largest electrical apprenticeship providers in the country”.
Professor Graham Heaslip, Head of the GMIT School of Engineering, says: “This investment will increase GMIT’s provision of apprenticeship education, which is critical to delivering on the Government’s recently launched “Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021 – 2025”.
“We secured circa €1.4 million to increase provision of our electrical craft apprenticeship courses to meet national demand, while our GMIT School of Design and Creative Arts secured circa €400,000 from the HEA for the provision of Wood Manufacturing and Finishing craft apprenticeships at our Letterfrack campus. From September 2021, we will offer craft apprenticeship training in electrical, motor mechanics, and wood manufacturing & finishing”.
This latest allocation to GMIT represents approximately 9% of the total €20m allocated by the HEA.
Details on GMIT apprenticeships are available at:
https://www.gmit.ie/engineering-apprenticeships/department-engineering-apprenticeships
A member of staff in one of the GMIT apprentice labs at the Galway (Dublin Road) campus. [Photo: Michael Keaney].
