Up to 30 representatives gathered this morning (28th February) in Coláiste Dhúlaigh College of Further Education (CDCFE) to discuss the CDCFE Traineeship in Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Customer Service Logistics.
Liam O’Halloran, on behalf of North Dublin Chamber opened the event welcoming all representative from North Dublin Charmer and local SMEs in attendance. Liam identified the location of Dublin Airport as being the 14th busiest airport in the world, and fast growing pace of industry and SMEs in the area. He also identified the workforce needed in Logistics, and how the CDCFE Traineeship bridges the gap in recruitment.
Speaking at the event as host, Mary Hickie, Principal of Coláiste Dhúlaigh College of Further Education (CDCFE) discussed the success of the CDCFE Traineeship ran by the college in association with Speedpak Group. Audrey Manning, CDCFE Traineeship Programme Coordinator discussed the programme schedule, content and thanked the industry partners including Allergan, Butlers, Ikea, Bewley’s, Real Technologies and Speedpak Group, that provided the trainees with valuable work placement making the last programme such a success, and she looks forward to continuing the working relationships in the future programmes.
John Murphy, CEO, Speekpak Group as a partner and host employer on the CDCFE Traineeship, emphasised the shortage of skilled workforce in the Manufacturing area and that recruitment is a challenge. He went on to identify that individuals do not need diplomas or degrees to access the industry, as the industry needs people with the right attitude and willingness to be trained and learn the job. John also identified the benefit to businesses with cooperate responsibility mind-set engaging with work experience.
Natasha Kinsella, Regional Skill Forum Manage Dublin identified the EXPLORE Initiative. She discussed how the initiative is designed focusing on digital skills in Manufacturing, and to encourage long-term employees or employers to engage with lifelong learning and to assist them to future proof their businesses by upskilling the existing workforce. Natasha outlined that the initiative is fully funded by the Department of Education and Skills, and participants will be only have 2 days in the training environment. Natasha shared a testimonial from one of the participants “A Life Saver For My Companies Online Capability” noting the benefits of engaging in the initiative.
Mary Hickie closed the event discussing the SKILLS to Advance. She discussed how CDCFE as Education and Training Board provider could meet the training and upskilling needs local employers and employees through this initiative, and if any employer would like to discuss this further to contact Áine Daly, CDCFE Assistant Principal – Employer Engagement directly (acddaly@cdcfe.com).
Margaret Corbett, CDETB Employer Engagement Coordinator explained in details how employees could access upskilling and reskilling opportunities by one of three routes as follows
Route 1: Delivered directly to employees, helping grow and evolve skills to advance their work options.
Route 2: Through business engagement, developed in consultation with individual small and medium sized businesses to address the particular needs of their workforce.
Route 3: As part of regional development to help get ahead of vulnerabilities and strong emerging opportunities in regions and industries across Ireland
The event was well received by all businesses in attendance and they noted how beneficial events such as these are to companies in North Dublin.
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