St. Joseph’s Training Centre, Carrick

Address: Dublin Rd Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim.
Telephone: (071) 9620624
Fax: (071) 9620690
E-mail: St Josephtc@eircom.net

AIMS

• To help students develop a respect and tolerance of all others irrespective of age, beliefs, ability or background.
• To provide an environment where the needs of all are catered for equally and without prejudice.
• To promote an atmosphere where honesty and integrity are basic activities.
• To enable all students to express their own individuality.
• To promote a culture whereby students realise their own role in the learning process
• To provide a broad, balanced and suitable curriculum designed to enable all students to realise their full potential
  

Ethos

The center provides a safe environment where teachers and students are equal partners in the learning process.

Mission Statement

The overriding goal of Saint Joseph's Training Centre for Travellers is to help individuals to develop their full potential to break the cycle of literacy and social deprivation in which they are trapped and to enable them to become self reliant and self supporting members of society.

The following modules were made available to the students at the centre:

• Communication Skills
  
• Literacy
  
• Social and Life Skills
  
  • Introduction to work
    
• Cookery
  
• Home Management
  
• Health and Hygiene
  
• Handcrafts
  
• Hand sewing
  
• Folk Art
  
• Consumer Awareness
  
• Engineering workshop process
  
• Woodcraft
  
  
  

History of Centre
St Joseph's Training Centre was established in 1988 to cater for the education needs of the travelling community in the County Leitrim area.

The programme is delivered over 41.5 weeks for two years and this training period can be extended if necessary to facilitate access to leaving certificate qualifications or equivalent.

The programme integrates core skills with all aspects of travellers experience. Programmes place a key emphasis on the key skills of literacy, numeracy, communications and new technology, while providing a range of vocational options allied with a work experience programme. The programme is designed to be flexible to respond to the needs, talents and interests identified by travellers and also to reflect their cultural identity.

In 1984 a local management committee was set up to take this project to fruition. The committee consisted of representatives of both local and statutory bodies operating in the locality.

Locating premises was a major problem for the committee but eventually it was decided to locate premises known locally as Gills Garage, which is situated at Dublin Road.

The overriding goal of Saint Joseph's Training Centre for Travellers is to help them to develop their full potential to break the cycle of literacy and social deprivation in which they are trapped and to enable them to become self reliant and self supporting members of society.

A Community Youth Training Programme under the auspices of FAS was availed of and eventually St Joseph's Training Centre became a reality.

The centre continued along these guidelines until 1994 when due to demand the centre expanded to cater for all young people in search of training in the South Leitrim/North Roscommon Area.

The centre was the joint responsibilities of two government agencies i.e. FAS and Department of Education.

The Board of Management of Saint Joseph's training centre would recognise that the training centre is the focal point of all traveller development for the community.
The Board has also introduced the concept of enterprise development to the travelling community. They recognised the difficulty experienced by travellers in achieving mainstream employment so they set about developing its own employment opportunities in 1996, An Ironing service was established which employed traveller trainees who had completed their training programme.

The Board interacting with the local Partnership board and the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation developed the enterprise section to incorporate a garment alteration service and a curtain making service.

The board also recognised the need for development within the traveller halting sites namely at Mohill and Carrick on Shannon.

Having established a need analysis within the sites, the board set about a programme of development. A family support worker was employed for the Mohill site and soon plans were underway for the development of a new community centre. A derelict building adjacent to the newly developed halting site was refurbished and an excellent community centre was provided. The group now felt the need for pre-school facilities and by May 1998 a pre-school was in operation on the halting site.
Having successfully organised this development the board of management turned its attention to the development of a childcare facility at the halting site in Carrick on Shannon. Once again, with the assistance of County Leitrim Partnership and the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation, the board provided a new purpose built community play centre and have recruited a project leader whose initial employment contract will run until 2001.

The board has now addressed various issues like enterprise development and the provision of employment opportunities and the provision of childcare facilities, which will assist young parents in achieving further education and training.

While the actual training programme is now the responsibility of County Leitrim VEC the Board of Directors in conjunction with the Director and administration staff of the centre continue to work for the benefit of traveller development within the county.

For more information please contact:

Donall Ó'Scolai, Adult Education Officer, County Leitrim VEC, St. George's Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim Ph. 071-9621397 / 9620513 Email: aded.leitrim@indigo.ie	Director: Gerry McGovern St. Joseph’s Training Centre Dublin Rd, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim Ph: (071) 9620624 Fax: (071) 9620690 E-mail: StJosephtc@eircom.net

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[Youth Dev Proj Thurles] [Shannon Bank Athlone] [Mullingar] [Ross Youth New Ross]
[St. Kieran's Bray] [Centre of Education Wicklow]
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