What is FET
Further Education and Training (FET) provides education and training and related supports to assist you to:
- gain qualifications at Levels 1-6 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) or equivalent
- attain and refresh economically valuable skills to access and sustain all types of employment
FET plays an important role in helping people to lead fulfilling lives, supporting some of the hard-to-reach individuals and groups to achieve their potential and reducing the costs to society of exclusion. It also assists in tackling skills shortages and boosting the future growth and competitiveness of the Irish economy.
Who is it for?
- those wishing to access vocational education, training and skills development
- labour market returners
- those interested in a new career direction
- those wishing to access ‘second chance’ education
- for school leavers and others preparing for higher education
- Work-based initial vocational education, training, and skills development, such as apprenticeship programmes, in preparation for an occupation.
- Initial vocational education, training, and skills development, such as PLCs and VTOS, in preparation for progression to University, Technological Universities and other higher education institutions.
- Occupation-specific education, training and skills development, such as Traineeships, Specific Skill Training, On-Line Learning and Local Training Initiatives, for jobseekers, job returners, job changers and unemployed persons to reskill/upskill to meet career and employment aspirations.
- Foundation education and training and skills development, such as Bridging/Foundation programmes, for example for job returners, who after a long period of absence from the labour market wish to access a Level 5/6 programme of further education and training or skill development.
- Education, training, skills development and related supports to enable people holding less than upper secondary qualifications with poor levels of literacy, numeracy and/or IT skills to progress on a pathway to engage, reengage in civil life and/or to prepare for mainstream further education and training through literacy and community-based education.
- Education, training, skills development and related supports for young people, such as Youthreach, Community Training Centre provision, enabling unemployed early school leavers, those not in employment, education or training (NEETs), to access /re-entry/completion of mainstream lower and/or upper second level education to meet individual, personal, career and employment aspirations.
- Continuing education, training, skill development for employees, such as Skillnets provision and ETB Skills for Work initiative, to upskill or reskill in generic skills, technical skills, digital skills and literacy/numeracy skills.
- Provision of certain types of work related training and qualifications that are mandatory under legislation in order to practice in particular occupations e.g. Construction Skills Certification System (CSCS), Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP), Road Safety Authority (RSA) requirements for professional drivers etc.
- Other systematic and deliberate ‘own time’ learning undertaken by individuals for leisure, social and/or personal purposes or for the purpose of learning, such as self-financing education and training during the evening.