Six GMIT Letterfrack students to compete in Ireland Skills Live 2019

Six students at GMIT’s National Centre for Excellence in Furniture Design & Technology in Letterfrack have successfully qualified to compete at this year’s Ireland Skills Live Event at the RDS in Dublin from 21 to 23 March. The students will compete in skills areas of Cabinetmaking, Joinery and Carpentry in an event that will, for the first time, see 28 different skills being represented under the one roof.

The students competing are Shane McLoughlin, Westport, Co Mayo, Jack Lynch, Killycannon, Co Cavan, Lauren Casey, Newtowncashel, Co Longford, Aidan Devine, Tulsk, Co Roscommon, Brian Dillon, Knocklyon, Co Dublin, and Benen Lynch, Tullaghan, Co Leitrim. The students are all studying full-time degree programmes in Furniture Design, Wood Technology and Teacher Education. GMIT Letterfrack students have had significant success both in the national and international skills competitions over the past decade and this year’s students are preparing for an intense few days in the RDS.

Ireland Skills Live 2019 aims to promote college courses, apprenticeships and traineeships that offer skills and on-the-job learning. It also aims to help to address the serious skills shortage identified in Ireland and help inform students, their parents, teachers and careers advisers about the exciting career paths available through such courses. Visitors to the event will be able to witness first-hand the talents of our young people, participating in areas as diverse as Aircraft Maintenance to Plastic Die Engineering and Beauty Therapy to Cookery.

The GMIT IrelandSkills co-ordinator and WorldSkills Ireland Expert for Carpentry, lecturer Anthony Clare, says: “It is a fantastic achievement for so many of our students to be involved in this national competition. It will be a demanding yet unforgettable experience for them. GMIT Letterfrack students have a very proud history in IrelandSkills and the three previous competitors selected to represent Ireland in Cabinetmaking at the WorldSkills competition all hail from our programmes.” 

GMIT offer a range of programmes which have a strong skills-focus and also include Work Placement with opportunities in Ireland and overseas. These include degrees in Furniture Design, Wood Technology, Engineering, Culinary Arts, Hotel and Catering, Design and Science. In total more than 1,200 students go on work placement each year 94% of GMIT graduates have a job or go onto further study within nine months of graduating.

For more information on programmes in GMIT visit us at Stand E7/16 at Ireland Skills Live from March 21-23 at the RDS Dublin or go to www.gmit.ie  or www.facebook.com/GMIT(Official)

ENDS

Issued by Regina Daly, GMIT Communications Officer

GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway

Tel. 091 742826 / 087-9618355 (m) regina.daly@gmit.ie

www.gmit.ie/news