Galway Advertiser 1993/1993_08_19/GA_19081993_E1_020.pdf 

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Galway Advertiser

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E d u c a t i o n Guide

CITY SCHOOL LEADS THE WAY THE N E W TRAINING COURSE
Fr. Griffin C o m m u n i t y College is once more leading the field in preparing school leavers for the w o r l d of business. A "practice f i r m " has b e e n established in the college to let y o u n g people k n o w w h a t life in a w o r k situation is all about.
I t ' s called C l a d a c r a f t s , a n d will allow young peo ple to learn how to handle t h e u p s a n d downs of a w o r k situation in a very real w a y . ' 'This is a business skills concept, but it's not just about business. It is to give young people skills for liv ing in a changing w o r l d , " explains the V E C ' s Jim Brick, who has been involv ed in e s t a b l i s h i n g the programme. Practice Firms were first established in Germany in the 1920s. Today there is a huge network of such firms all over Europe. They trade between each other in a clos ed economy, in a network which includes thousands of firms in Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and further afield. They have a model office, with real phones, and real computers, and will have work to do. The room in which they are based does not remote ly resemble a classroom, It is a tastefully decorated workplace, with black fur niture, plants, and lots of light. " T h i s is called a "near real environment" and once you come through the door, you are in a real company. It has all the normal depart ments that a company would have, like sales, marketing, purchasing, finance, person nel and production. All the people working here will do real work, and will rotate from section to section throughout the year,"states Jim Brick. In other European coontries where the Chambers of Commerce run vocational courses, each practise firm is spearheaded and spon sored by a company in the real world. be asking craftshops and producers to provide them with samples for the purpose of marketing and sales. It will deal in high quality uni que crafts. " T h e marketing will in volve creating material which will be understood in E u r o p e , " says Mr Brick. "Trade fairs are a big part of the network between the various practise companies. They are held in Denmark and Germany, and funds are available for sending students to these." This course will teach participants the skills which they would get on a normal training course, and more. " T h e y will be taught literacy, communications, language skills, sales, marketing and a cultural awareness of Europe. There is a big emphasis on "soft skills" - communication, working in teams, negotia tions, conversations. " I t ' s all about showing people about work and lear ning as part of life. Learn ing in work is now a major activity, and that is a major part of the course's message. It will show dif ficulties, and it will show failures, and how people in a work situation live with uncertainty. Throughout, the student's self esteem is extremely important." Fr Griffin Road College's role in this course is a type of consultancy one, accor ding to Jim Brick. It will be a relationship based on trust between the school and the trainees, he stresses. Galway VEC hope that other training providers around the country will become involved in establishing this type of course in their area, and will become part of an Irish net work. According to Mr Brick there are plans to establish 150 in the next few years. T h e present course is be ing advertised at present in local p a p e r s , a n d enrolling will begin from the 1st of S e p t e m b e r . Because it gives participants a great deal of individual atten tion, only 20 people will be taken on. Judy Murphy.

REAL
A group of people from Galway City VEC saw the scheme operating in Den mark, and were impressed. They decided to set up a similar venture here, with the assistance of Aabenraa Business College in Southern Denmark. For its first year, Fr. Griffin Road's Practice Firm will be part of the Danish network which has 65 firms. " T h e recession in the 1980s led to a shortage of apprentice places to train young people in Denmark, so the Danes borrowed this idea from Germany. It has really taken off there," says Mr Bnck. The idea is that young people, 20 in the case of Fr Griffin Road, will be plac ed in a situation which is ex actly like a work situation.

CRAFTS
This relationship does not exist in Ireland between Chambers of Commerce and training agencies, but the group has talked to the local Chamber, which has been extremely helpful. Rather than the Galway practice firm depending on a single company for help, they have discussed options with the Chamber. This has led to the prac t i c e firm d e c i d i n g to capitalise on the rich crafts tradition in Galway, and set ting itself the task of marketing Galway's crafts abroad. It will operate under the name Cladacraft and will

S a r a h Corbett, Barna, long associated with drama in Galway is one of fifteen women to have won a place in the worlds most prestigious drama school RADA. RADA, the Royal Acadamy of Dramatic Art is in London's West End, the heartland of English Theatre. One of thousands who applied Sarah faced a very strict and demanding interview. RADA guards its reputation w e l l . As a graduate Sarah will join the long line of household names. Sir. John Guilguid, Anthony Hopkins, Peter OToole, Kenneth Brannagh, John Hurt and Fiona Shaw and many others all of whom trained at RADA. In fairness Sarah is no stranger to big names in the entertainment world. When she represented Ireland at the International Musical

Sarah's Place in World Famous Acting School
Peacechild 1987 she acted alongside Felice Arena, now a cast m e m b e r of the successful Australian soap "Neighbours." Sarah's face is also known to TV viewers fom the Telecom Eireann advert. The taunts of "Ce'n chaoi bhfuil dinion Maire?" still haunt her! It was in the Taibhdhearc that Sarah like so many Galway actors began acting. A student of Ailbhe Garveys School Of Speech & Drama she took to the stage at an early age as one of the first members of the then un-named Aisteoiri Oga playing "witches, hags and men mostly." Students and staff of Scoil Rois National School will r e m e m b e r her for the production of a musical she co-wrote and performed with the pupils in 1986. The auditions for RADA were arduous, long drawn out and painfully searching. After the initial application there are three stages - that is three separate auditions where each candidate had to perform e x t r a c t s from Shakespears modern plays. You also had to sing and chat away. At each audtion the panel grows. The final stage is a ten-hour workshop where you dance, sing, analyse text, improvise and work on a speech with the directors. It can be intimidating for the faint hearted but a wonderful challenge for the talented. Later when Sarah was contacted that she had been successful she could hardly believe it. "Are you sure its me you want?" she replied. "I still can't believe it" she said this week. "It is such an honour, such a famous school. Its been a dream of mine since I was ten years old." However, Sarah needs

Sarah Corbett, has to raise funds for her course help if she is to fulfil her dream. Her energies now are being devoted to fund raising for this 3 year course. She is looking for sponsors and assures them that they will get value for money. If any r e a d e r can help please p h o n e Sarah at 091-92162.

Cnah I tr ai n l onct nen to a C le e o H idesn o g f ar rsi g
A most popular and practical introduction to hairdressing is the year's course at the Connaught International College of Hairdressing in Galway.
The course is run by Josephine Cribbin who has the distinction of being one of only two hairdressing inspectors in the Republic of Ireland, and a fellow of the Association of British Hairdressers. The course is regarded as one of the best ways to learn all hairdressing techniques with graduates receiving an internationally recognised qualification from the City and Guilds of London. In addition to numerous awards and qualifications, Josephine brings to her s t u d e n t s a wealth of experience gained in Ireland. London. Belgium and the United States of America. The next course, which is limited to eight students, sums in September. For into; nation please telephone losephine on 091-63932.

MICHELLE PONUMNA.

GILLESPIE

OF LEITRIM

AND

LISA

MANNION

OF

BOTH BILINGUAL

SECRETARIAL GRADUATES. BOTH

WERE AWARDED SCHOLARSHIPS TO CONTINUE THEIR STUDIES IN FRANCE FOR 3 MONTHS

Principal of Yeats College Terry Fahy with Dr Patrick Murray, best selling author and editor of English texts for the Leaving Cert who lectured at Yeats College earlier this year