Cavan Institute – the students’ top choice
Despite the challenges faced by students with the COVID-19 Pandemic, Cavan Institute remains one of the largest providers of PLC courses in Ireland. This academic year saw the return to on-site face to face learning, which was a welcome development for both students and staff.
Cavan Institute continues to enrol in the region of 1,000 new students every year, from Cavan and surrounding counties.
So what has contributed to the continued growth of Cavan Institute to be the envy of many rural towns throughout the country? Well it’s down to a number of factors, like the quality courses on offer, the state-of-the-art facilities, high quality of teaching and learning and sporting achievements.
However, most importantly, the continued success of the Institute’s past students has undoubtedly contributed to the national reputation of producing highly skilled graduates that Cavan Institute has.
Progression opportunities
Many students who attend Cavan Institute do so with the intention of progressing to degree programmes in other third level institutions. For example, Laura Kelleher deferred her CAO offer and completed a QQI Level 5 qualification in Multimedia and Web Development.
Laura says: “I always had an interest in working with computers and by studying this course I would get the chance to learn valuable skills that would benefit me regardless of what career path I found myself. I also wanted to bridge the gap between leaving secondary school and starting a course in a third level college."
Laura went on to complete a Degree course in DCU and is now working in the marketing industry.
Alternative pathways
Another past student, Eli Millor, says: “Without Cavan Institute, I doubt that I would be in the position that I am in today. I knew that I would not get the points needed in the Leaving Cert to do a Physiotherapy course in Ireland, so I used Cavan Institute as a stepping stone to get into a university abroad.” Eli is now studying to become a chartered Physiotherapist in Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Eindhoven, Holland
Get that job!
While many of the courses in Cavan Institute have progression pathways to degrees, others have a direct focus on employment in areas such as security, beauty therapy and hairdressing.
Another former student, Kevin Patterson-Hayes says: “In the downturn in the economy, I found myself wanting to up-skill in the workplace. I had always had a keen interest in hairdressing and decided that, at 41 years of age, it was the time. Next for me was to find the right college and that was Cavan Institute.”
Since finishing his studies, Kevin has gone on to full-time employment in a job he loves in the hairdressing industry.
Their stories paint a picture of how Cavan Institute has grown to become the third largest provider of Further Education and Training (FET) courses in Ireland and we look forward to many more years of success.
There are still a limited number of places on some courses starting this September.