Site identified for new county apprenticeship centre
A two-and-a-half-acre site in Roscommon Town has been identified for a proposed apprenticeship centre for the county, a move that has been widely welcomed locally.
SOLAS, the State’s further education and training body, confirmed to the Roscommon Herald that the Galway Education and Training Board (ETB) had submitted a business case “in respect of the purchase of a property in County Roscommon”.
SOLAS said the purpose of the business case was to provide a “new apprenticeship capacity and potential consolidation of existing further education and training provision from other parts of County Roscommon”.
The training body said it had met with Galway-Roscommon Education and Training Board to discuss the proposal in further detail. “When this process has been fully completed, it will be submitted to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science with a recommendation from SOLAS following appraisal”.
Highlighting the issue in the Seanad last week in the presence of Simon Harris, Minister for Further & Higher Education, Senator Aisling Dolan said the site in question was a two-and-a-half-acre site in the heart of Roscommon town. “It is a fantastic site in the middle of the town, close to the main street and with bus and train access. There is potential for four to five workshops. County Roscommon has no provision for an apprenticeship sector. This is an incredible opportunity to deliver world-class apprenticeship training centres in County Roscommon,” said the Fine Gael Senator.
Fianna Fail Senator Eugene Murphy, also speaking on the issue in the Seanad, said: “I assure the minister that there will be many students to take up the offer if the education centre is put in Roscommon Town. It would be very good for the local economy but, more important, it would be good for students and our workforce.” In reply, Minister Harris said he was “excited” about this proposal, which had real merit. “I look forward to visiting County Roscommon to discuss this further,” he said.
Galway Roscommon ETB Vice-chair and Roscommon Town based councillor, Cllr Kathleen Shanagher said she had been an ardent supporter of the need for apprenticeships in the county for many years. “I have been on GRETB for nine years and have been very vocal on the ground over this time about apprenticeships and the importance of getting Roscommon recognised as a location for training purposes for apprenticeships.
“We brought the Chief Executive around Roscommon Town about six, seven weeks ago looking at sites for a possible centre. For Roscommon to get this would be fantastic,” Cllr Shanagher said. (see story page 3)
