Calling early school-leavers

Calling all early school-leavers

Neill O’Neill

Over 16, finished school and unsure about what to do next? Read on.
South West Mayo Development Company (SWMDC) are looking for participants for a new pilot programme they hope to start shortly, which will give early school-leavers who are not accessing education, training or employment options, the chance to explore their interests while learning about information and communications technology.
The Guidance Education Training in Information Technology (GET IT) programme is an innovative initiative, targeted specifically at early school leavers in south west Mayo, which SWMDC hopes could spread across the county and country.
“It all started when, as a part of the community consultation process, people from SWMDC took some early school-leavers on a day out to Delphi,” Tim Rogers, programme co-ordinator, explained to The Mayo News.
“Through general conversation it was discovered that an awful lot of them wouldn’t be engaged in any type of education at all once they leave school, and that they have a great interest in Information Technology. That was the basis on which SWMDC put in an application to Pobal for funding for an IT training initiative for early school-leavers from the dormant accounts.
“These teenagers love IT and know it can be very useful, so we put another spin on it and put together a programme which matches up early school-leavers, who are unattached to any education or training services, with a mentor in an existing youth service. They may be engaged in something like a Neighbourhood Youth Project or the Edge Project, which is run by the HSE, or the Garda Juvenile Liaison, but they are not partaking in any training or education.
“The idea behind this is that they sit down for an hour a week with the mentor, who is a project worker in a service, and myself. We will come up with a study plan and set them up with a laptop and show them how to use technology as a method for exploring their options.”
The course will work from a customised model, and, unlike school, the participants will not have to attend a classroom at the same time every week. To increase enthusiasm, the plan is to teach the participants more about something they already have an interest in. Tim Rogers hopes that after a process of completing a portfolio and getting accreditation for it – and exploring their interests over six or eight months – each of the participants will find a progression route to another course or to employment.
Another unique aspect of the GET IT programme is that the community development team from SWMDC will try to match each person with a ‘study buddy’, who will be someone from the community that can give them real world experience in the areas where their interests lie.
“So, for example, if you are interested in motorbikes you will be matched with somebody who has a bike shop and can give over some hours a month to showing you around, familiarising you with how the set-up works, and, hopefully, deepening your interests,” said Tim, who hopes to get ten participants to complete the course over two years, but warns that this will not be a traditional-style programme and will require a bare minimum commitment of six hours a month for six months.

For further information on the GET IT programme, contact Tim Rogers on 098 41950 or e-mail trogers@southmayo.com