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Springboard: Skills for the future

Minister Ruairi Quinn and Minister of State Ciaran Cannon speak with Denise Kennedy, a Springboard graduate

Minister Ruairi Quinn and Minister of State Ciaran Cannon speak with Denise Kennedy, a Springboard graduate

Springboard is a Government programme that aims to help jobseekers get the skills that they need in order to get back to work and specifically targets areas where there are job opportunities and growth.

This year 171 different courses in 38 colleges are being offered, including 21 in ICT aimed at giving people who may have trained in a different area the skills to work in the growing ICT sector.

Since 2011, 16,429 jobseekers have participated on Springboard courses with a €54 million investment from the Exchequer. In 2014/15, the Government will spend a further €25 million on Springboard.

More than six out of ten participants complete their Springboard course; of those who withdraw early, almost a third do so because they got a job.

MerrionStreet.ie spoke with John Donovan, a Springboard graduate and Education Minister Quinn at the announcement of the fourth round of Springboard places.