CAREER Paths

Portobello School

• Portobello School is a third-level college offering both full-time and evening courses in a variety of subjects including Montessori Teaching, Childcare, Travel & Tourism, Hotel & Catering and Office Management. Many of these courses lead to internationally recognised qualifications from the City & Guilds Institute of London and the Institute of Commercial Management.

Founded in 1981 with just three students, Portobello School has now grown to accommodate over three hundred students in 1994. The school offers five full-time validated courses in the day-school and nine externally validated courses in the evening-school. The school occupies over 4,500 sq feet of refurbished facilities with bright airy classrooms, private lockers and canteen. The School is situated close to the city centre and private car-parking is available students attending evening courses.

The Health Care Department offers full-time and evening City & Guilds courses in Childcare and Pre-Nursing. The school has an excellent success rate in placing students and many graduates are now running their own Montessori schools all over Ireland.

The Business Studies Department at Portobello offers full-time and evening courses for both school-leavers and mature students in Travel & Tourism, Hotel & Catering Supervision and Farmhouse/Guesthouse Management, Office Management and Legal Studies. Graduates of the Travel & Tourism courses are working in airlines, car hire firms, as couriers in holiday and in travel agents and resorts all over the world. The Guesthouse/Farm-house Tourism management course is of particular interest for those wishing to enter into the home tourism market and is unique in that it is the only course of its type in Ireland.

The school has highly experienced and fully qualified staff, all approved by the City & Guilds and The Institute of Commercial Management. Another unique feature of the school is the home from home accommodation service provided for school-leavers. Students are placed with carefully selected host families in Dublin with their own room and full board, in return for light household duties and babysitting.

Portobello School significantly only offers courses in growth areas of employment and the ethos of the school has remained the same since its foundation in 1981. Personal recommendations and career guidance counsellor referrals account for 80% of its student intake. As Delia Lyons states: “The individual care and attention to personal growth and development of each student combined with the delivery of top standards of internationally recognised Certificates and Diplomas has been, and continues to be, Portobello School’s key to success.”

Advanced Technology College

• Advanced Technology College is at the cutting edge of new courses dealing in media, video, sound/audio engineering and cinematography and film studies. The college also offers highly regarded Computer Programming and Electronics courses and the success of the college graduates is testament to the quality of the courses. In the electronics area, two of the students received world-wide first place medals for their achievements and in the Software Engineering and Information Technology classes, 90% of the participants had secured full-time employment before they sat their exams last term.

This year, in response to student needs, ATC is offering a very exciting and intensive Media Studies course combining five separate international qualifications that encompass Radio/Print Journalism, Desktop Publishing, TV/Video Production and Radio Broadcasting. And if you have been reading about the Information Superhighway and trying to figure out exactly what its implications are, then ATC has the answer. This year they are proud to announce Ireland’s first independent Multi-media course.

The wide range of courses available at Advanced Technology College reflects the demands of today’s job market. The needs of students are met by detailed training on industry-standard facilities, delivered by highly experienced lecturers. The high skills that the students attain at ATC is evident from the introductory College Video which is available free to any prospective student. This film was made by the students themselves and it clearly demonstrates by its high production values and professionalism, the calibre of skills the student can expect to attain at the College.

All subjects are available on both a full-time and part-time basis and students are welcome to avail of the various sports and recreational facilities which the college has to offer.

The Gaiety

School of Acting

• The Gaiety School Of Acting was founded in 1986 to fill a serious vacuum in the training of young performers for the Irish theatre. It now offers the most comprehensive full-time independent training in this area, in the country. The two-year full-time acting programme, together with foundation courses combine to offer a vital, challenging, and refreshing range of training programmes.

All of the school’s tutors are drawn from the ranks of actors, directors, producers, writers and stage managers whose skills, experience and insight are shared with students. Other actors, directors and writers visit the school regularly to discuss their work with students and recently the school was delighted to welcome Steven Berkoff as part of a developing programme of international training links.

The school has also added an important theoretical dimension to their courses through their links with the Drama Studies department of UCD, as well as their ongoing links with the Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design.

As well as offering instruction in acting, the Gaiety School Of Acting now offers writing classes. The creative writing course is ten weeks in duration, runs on one evening per week and allows the individual to explore and develop various writing forms. After the initial success of the Practical Playwriting course, this writing course is also returning to the school’s training programme.

Since 1987, the Gaiety School Of Acting has run a successful range of part-time classes for both adults and young people. The Young Gaiety (6 - 15 years) and the Youth Theatre (16 - 19 years) aims to provide an introduction to acting and improvisation for young people. In these classes the students are introduced to drama in a way that encourages imagination and self-expression and develops confidence and fluency of speech.

The Youth Theatre classes also involve the practical exploration of voice, movement and character study. Courses for adults include the one-year part-time Foundation Course which runs on two evenings per week.

These courses are now enroling and for more information or a free brochure phone: (01) 6799277.

Appian College – School Of Law.

• Appian College is a new independant third level college whose objective is to provide the most successful and cost effective independent route to legal qualification and to the profession in Ireland and the UK. The college provides a range of legal courses with fully experienced lecturers, each with extensive experience in their chosen field.

Tuition is offered for the Bachelor Of Law (LLB) Honours Degree from the University of London, which is recognised as a Primary Degree by Irish and UK professional bodies. The University of London External programme is the oldest and the most prestigious independent external university programme in the world.

Intending students who do not have the higher level Leaving Certificate grades required for the three-year syllabus have a second option available. Appian College offers a Foundation Law Course which enables students to enter the degree programme the following year. Also note that there is greater flexibility with mature students and it is usually not necessary for them to take the Foundation Law Course.

Appian College is situated on Morehampton Road just a half mile from St. Stephens Green and is located near a range of amenities including Herbert Park with its public tennis courts, soccer pitches and bowling greens.

Tiernan Design School

• Tiernan Design School is Ireland’s only dedicated interior design school offering full-time and part-time courses in interior architecture and decoration, with courses ranging from a 3-year diploma in interior architecture, (internationally accredited) to evening courses in decoration.

During the course, all students are given experience of working on actual projects with the Tiernan Design Consultancy. They also have the opportunity to work with other professional designers who are visiting lecturers at the School.

As an integral part of the course programme, students will visit a number of outstanding historical and modern buildings in Ireland and Europe. The School also arranges visits to manufacturing companies within the construction industry to familiarise students with all aspects of building design.

The aim of the school is to encourage all students to discover and pursue their own individual interests and to prepare them for a career in interior architecture and decoration. Over the last few years successful graduates of the Tiernan Design School have entered the profession of Architecture and allied professional consultancies: Interior Design with architectural and building firms; Contract Furnishings and Design; Interior Design sections of department stores, hotels restaurants and public houses, banks, manufacturing. organisations, shopfitters local authorities and government departments.

Irish Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management

• Prepare yourself for the career of a lifetime . . . Practitioners in purchasing and materials management are well known to be highly motivated. You might say that they would hardly land jobs as buyers, materials planners, stock managers or transport controllers in contemporary business unless they were open to being highly motivated in the first place. And the opportunities are all around – from banking to electronics, the public service to pharmaceuticals, not to mention the retail and distributive trades.

Business people will tell you that procurement is being taken more and more into account when planning for the future – in other words it is becoming “strategic”. Since most of the money that comes in from sales is spent immediately in buying goods and services needed to continue in business, the implications of sloppy purchasing and supply are pretty alarming. In that context, the educated touch of the quality professional can help to put or keep a company “world class”.

The Irish Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management is the point of reference in this country for the purchasing and materials management profession. One of its principal activities is the development of educational programmes in the whole area of Supply including (a) planning and control of materials and services, (b) procurement, (c) inventory management and (d) logistics. It sets, examines and accredits its own three-year diploma in Purchasing and Materials Management, the only complete programme of Irish origin in this field.

The course is carried out on a part-time basis by some twelve Regional Technical Colleges and other similar institutions. Enrolment is in September and full details of the course is available from the various colleges or from the Institute’s offices at John Player House, South Circular Road, Dublin 8.

Pulse Recording College

• The rapid expansion which has taken place in the music industry in Ireland has provided opportunities for people qualified in recording and engineering techniques. Pulse Recording College is a modern state-of-the-art facility who have strong links with the mainstream music business. The college also gives students the chance to work with the very latest technology, as found in typical professional facilities all over the world.

The course on offer at Pulse is the City & Guilds Certificate in Sound Engineering which is the recognised, worldwide, industry-standard qualification in sound engineering. Students will also be awarded the Pulse Recording College Sound Engineering Course Certificate in recognition of their achievements in extra-curricular work, projects, work experience etc.

The aim of the City & Guilds Course is to give students a thorough knowledge of the basic principles behind the technology used in the majority of recording situations. By having an insight into the basic principles, students may progress to different ares of music technology e.g. live sound, maintenance recording engineer etc., without having to study a new set of skills.

Equipment available at Pulse includes a full working 24-track studio with Akai S1100 sampler; Atari ST computer with Cubase sequencer; numerous sound modules; drum machines and keyboards; a selection of studio microphones; Amek Einstein mixing desk; Tascam 24 track tape machine; Tascam and Sony DAT machines; a variety of studio effects and a range of instruments and amps.

The course lecturers are fully-qualified recording engineers with extensive teaching experience and the staff at Pulse are totally committed to helping the students to achieve the highest standards of engineering skill.

A vital component of the Pulse Recording College course is the work experience element. All students will be placed in a real professional work environment where they will observe and participate in the tasks for which they are being trained. This is a unique opportunity to put academic knowledge to the practical test and to make contacts with established music industry professionals. In previous years students have been placed with recording studios, jingle composition studios and tape duplication plants among others.

Advice and assistance will also be given to students on their employment prospects and in planning their career on completion of the course. Pulse Recording Studio is at The Basement, 1 Harrington Street, Dublin 8.

Ph: (01) 4784045

Pobalscoil Rosmini

• Pobalscoil Rosmini day school has over forty courses on offer for adults, including contemporary languages, science and business subjects and a wide range of practical courses. Facilities at the school include a fully-equipped computer room, a comprehensive library, a medical station with qualified nurse and a full-time guidance counsellor.

The school’s adult education programme for autumn 1994 includes: Computer Studies; Office Skills; Creative Writing; Photography; Aromatherapy; French; German; Media Studies; Word Processing; Office Organisation & Administration; Guitar for Beginners; Bridge; Furniture Upholstery; Woodwork; Gardening; Video/Camcorder Techniques; Yoga; Self-Defence.

Euro Club Rosmini opens again in September with a new ten-week course for primary students from seven to twelve years of age. The main aim of this course is to focus on Ireland as a member of a rapidly integrating Europe and to develop an awareness of, and a feel for things European. Euro Club continues to make Saturdays interesting, challenging and enjoyable for those taking part.

Pobalscoil Rosmini is located at Grace Park, Drumcondra and the adult education office can be contacted at Ph: (01) 8371015.

University Of Dundee

Bachelor of Accountancy (BAcc)

• The accountancy students of the 1990’s are expected to master a wide range of practical techniques and to acquire some understanding of the disciplines of law, management, economics, finance, statistics and computing as well as the variety of topics taught under accounting courses. If you graduate with a BAcc degree, you should be equipped not only to embark on a career as an accountant but also to enter professions such as banking, insurance, and management, with the prospect of ending up as the finance director or the managing director of a large firm. Even the music industry nowadays is said to be run by accountants.

The Bachelor of Accountancy degree at the University of Dundee is unique because it combines the basic courses that are necessary for intending accountants with the opportunity to study, in depth, a range of other disciplines in the financial area. This possibility arises because of the Scottish four-year honours programme which permits an extension of study beyond the third year.

The first year of the BAcc is made up of Foundation Accountancy, Foundation Economics and Information Processing. The second year explores Financial and Management Accounting as well as Management Studies and the third year includes Taxation and Auditing as well as instruction on professional practice and business systems. The three accountancy subjects which were studied during the second year are also studied at greater depth and at a more advanced level.

If you undertake an honours degree you will have a choice of four honours specialist subjects: (a) Accountancy, (b) Accountancy with Business Finance, (c) Accountancy with Business Systems and (d) Accountancy with Management Studies. However, the main benefits of an honours degree are perhaps the opportunity you will have to embark on an additional year of study. Many students greatly expand their intellectual horizons in their honours year, as well as enhancing their employment prospects on graduation.

Dundee is situated on the east coast of Scotland and is the administrative, shopping, recreational and cultural capital of the Tayside region. Many Irish students have come to study at Dundee, including Gordon Hamilton, the Irish rugby star who scored so memorably in the World Cup match against Australia in Dublin. BAcc undergraduates are drawn from all parts of Great Britain and as far afield as Malaysia.

Open Learning On RTE

• RTE Television launches its programmes for schools this autumn on October 3rd. The schedule, transmitted on Network 2, will run until June 1995 and includes programmes for both primary and secondary students, as well as adult education programmes.

Some of the programmes to be broadcast over the coming months include: The Earth In Space, a unique exploration of the earth and solar system which gives a fresh perspective on our planet. Ollscoil – Getting The Message, a series for adults which examines the role and nature of the media in Ireland and which presents a challenging and alternative approach to the world of the media; History in Action, which presents major historical events of this century and encourages students to take a more questioning attitude to some of the issues raised; Maths Everywhere, an animated series for age group 7-11 which uses space travel to explore maths problems in an exciting and challenging way.

For a full list of programmes for schools consult the RTE Guide or contact RTE, Educational Programmes Department at RTE, Annex 3, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

Allied Computer Training

• Computing is a growth industry. While other areas of employment have been in decline in recent years, the computer zone has been growing rapidly and steadily. Furthermore, as economic conditions improve both here and in the UK, additional growth in computer jobs is forecast.

Allied Computer Training was founded in 1980 to provide top quality Information Technology Training to the Irish public and to Irish Business. Since its foundation, it has consistently striven to ensure excellence in all aspects of its training and instruction and ACT’s success has been widely recognised by many examining bodies and professional organisations. These include: The City & Guilds of London Institute, The National Computing Centre and The Institute of Electrical Engineers.

ACT’s training policy is totally devoted to its subjects and this means that all their resources are concentrated on the syllabus without any dilution to other disciplines. Information Technology subjects require a high level of personal involvement. With this in mind, Allied Computer Training keep class sizes to approximately twelve, thus ensuring the highest possible level of attention for each student.