Apprenticeship centre plans - a positive step
There is a myriad of areas where apprenticeships work really and there are several more areas where they could be introduced
A two-and-a-half-acre site identified for an apprenticeship centre in the middle of Roscommon Town is a prime location for such a facility with numerous transport links available locally.
News that such a centre could be on the way for Roscommon is to be welcomed.
Plans for a Galway Roscommon Education and Training Board (GRETB) apprenticeship centre in Roscommon Town have been warmly welcomed by a number of local councillors.
Not every student is suited to mainstream Third Level education and the apprentice route in a variety of areas is often overlooked in the rush for points and CAO courses.
There is a myriad of areas where apprenticeships work really and there are several more areas where they could be introduced.
GRETB vice-chair and Roscommon Town based councillor, Cllr Kathleen Shanagher has been an ardent supporter of the need for apprenticeships in the county for many years. A member of the GRETB for nine years, she has been very vocal on the ground over these nine years about apprenticeships and the importance of getting Roscommon recognised as a location for training purposes for apprenticeships.
It is understood that the GRETB have been on the hunt for a centre in Roscommon Town for some time and recently a possible location in the centre of the town was identified.
Funding is now required to make this happen. This project is one that merits backing across the political divide.
Cllr Shanagher is right when she says that if this goes ahead, “it will be just fantastic for Roscommon Town, it will bring young people into the town, they will need accommodation, and all that it is going to bring will be fantastic”.
Another local member of the GRETB, Cllr Laurence Fallon says that the business case is solid and sound. “My understanding is that there has been a very favourable response from Minister Harris but it’s now a question of how fast he can move now”.
That must be the focus now – to get the project moving and moving quickly in the right direction.
