 for Thursday afternoon and the students at the National Learning Network in Nettokernley had an open day recently showcasing what exactly they do and I'm delighted to say there's no point in me going on and explaining exactly what they do well not when one of the instructors Rory Freel is with us in studio and also one of the students Rose Gollacher. So good afternoon to you both. Thanks for coming in. No problem now Rory I'll start with you tell us exactly what it is that the National Learning Network does based out at Rossview Business Park out near the post tower and about here in Nettokernley. It is yeah and not many people know what's there but it's an adult education center specialized training for people 16 years and over and basically it provides personalized training with extra supports for people who are going to want to take a next step or go on a journey with education or and to find employment. Okay so what myself and Rose are here to talk to you about really is the vocational training that's there three courses specifically and those courses are specifically for people who have experienced setbacks of some kind or other it could be that they you know that education didn't work out for them before or they want to take next step step in stone and to further education or employment and we have a wide network of employers that work with the center and you know we can help students get get set up with different employment or education options. Okay it covers a lot. It does and it's a very broad service really but there's a lot of supports there that maybe people out there might not know are available to them. Yeah absolutely so yeah it is important to make a bit of noise about it and let people know that it's there and what you do. Just dig into a little bit into the the courses amongst the courses available there's an access program a job start and then perhaps the most advanced one there's an IT one. Yeah IT and business and it will be a level five course there which is right level of the leaving start and there's a level four retail skills a level three employability skills are the three vocational training programs there's a large element of work experience with them and you can study these courses in mainstream education but it's just that if what National Learning Network offers is that you get a student gets a little bit more time to complete their course and the extra time that they're given is all about personal development and all about creating an individual plan for that person that involves their own hobbies and linking them with the community and maybe the things that they aspire to do like goals and visions for the future that they'd like to try to develop while they're there. Okay Rose yeah how long have you been at the network? Yeah so three years now which it doesn't feel like three years of time actually went so fast I actually finished next Friday that'll be my last day oh wow so nearly finished yeah brilliant and and what have you been doing in those three years? Okay so I started off in the level four course and then I progressed to level five and but it's a really good like there's a really good range of modules that are really useful you know for out in the working world like customer service and work experience and I started to work experience in Watson higher and then that actually progressed to paid employment which is amazing. So it prepares you for the workplace? Yeah it really does it really kind of eases you in in a very supportive and guided way. So safe to say that you've made great progress in the three years? Yeah definitely I really have I think from when I was when I started you know I was a little kind of lost in life I think because my original plan hadn't worked out and I didn't really know what I wanted to do so so over the three years yeah I've you know I've made great friends I've gotten financial support so I can move to that or Kenny I even met my boyfriend in the lens oh wow and that was a bonus yeah exactly that was not a bonus. I didn't mention that in the perspective. Yeah maybe they should they might get a few more people to join. So safe to say that despite everything that you you've learned all the practical stuff it's also made a huge difference to your confidence. Oh it really has and that was the main thing that was something I was really lacking in before I started and I'm all the tutors you know they're so supportive and they're really understanding and then slowly little by little I definitely find my confidence coming back again especially as well with the work placement because it kind of gets you in the door for like employment and everything and then I make seem more confident I guess about applying for jobs and going on to further education. And at school how far had you progressed had you had you gone as far as the leaving cert? Yeah so I had my leaving cert and then I was in UCD as well I was studying English and History which I really enjoyed but I just had a bit of mental health difficulties so unfortunately I didn't finish my course and you know and then I was kind of drifting for a few years you know I was a little lost and I didn't really know what I wanted to do so and the line has been brilliant because it's kind of like a stepping stone in a way because I discovered you know where I want to go in life so it's been it's been really brilliant. So you found that a good fit? Yeah definitely it's a great opportunity. And you recommend it to others? Oh I definitely recommend it it's great for anyone who's a little unsure of where they want to go I think it's kind of like it's an excellent intermediate stepping stone for advancing to further study and employment. Yeah every student is different and you know whether that's at the ATU or at the National Learning Network every student is different and but I suppose at the with the network there's just a bit more thought and time given into the needs of individual students. Absolutely that's really what the extra time that you get on courses is designed for is to there's on-site supports there including educational psychologists and other supports that help you sort of organize just basic life stuff like housing finances and dealing with different departments and stuff. And I mean like it's just every student's different as you say and it's inspiring for us to actually meet the students because you know it can be hard for everyone to get on with life sometimes but especially when somebody's experience to set back and it's quite inspiring to see how somebody can get up and go or be able to fight through those things to be able to move on progress with goals and I suppose that's that's what we're there to do the the staff of a wide range of qualifications in different areas and are able to help you know guide students in that way. And some people have more difficulties to overcome than others but yeah it's a case of just you know unlocking the potential. Absolutely you know like Rose has read some amazing amount of books this year. She's a voracious reader. How many books have you read this year? Wow. Ninety books this year. And I mean like so a lot of students I meet in of course my work they they can excel at some or at least have some great skills and a very specific area. Finding out what that skill set is. Yeah or what that area is. Exactly and you know mainstream education is great for those that are works for fine but especially now the time of the leaving certain results come out and stuff. Some people's interests and skill sets just don't find that that fit in life and I suppose I mean that's that's what a service like that was designed for is to try to guide people back on to something that might be a worthwhile meaningful career for them and and it also fits into what the local market education or employment has to offer you know. And obviously you have a good relationship with local businesses and local employers. Yeah. To try to get work experience for. Yeah we have good supportive network of businesses out there who are more than willing to take students on for work placements that are aligned with their interests and things and thanks to anybody out there listening by the way who is an employer who's taken a student on by the way because I know there's lots of businesses out there that might be listening to you. Yeah absolutely. And it's important to do things like this in order to create awareness and I suppose it's also important to remind people that is it all year around that you would take in students or is it now at the start of sort of the academic year. Yeah well it's actually continuous and take I suppose so as you say all year round you can apply at any time but I suppose at certain points of the year there would be more of a drive maybe to try and capture the students at pivotal transition points in a year like after leaving certain things like that so but you can enroll at any time and that's the way it works it's continuous so. So Rose you're finishing up next week after after three years it's you know it's a landmark in your life and would you have thought three years ago that you'd be where you are today you know how did how did the future look three years ago. Three years ago I think it was very uncertain and like I said my original plan didn't really work out so I was kind of you know I was really unsure of what to do I was only in my mid 20s at the time but I was just really kind of lost in a way but like now through the three years and through my experience of Watson and higher I know that I find a further career path that I want to go into which is office administration and I'll actually be starting a medical and legal administration course with the ETB on the 3rd of October so it's kind of like a more specialized progression of the course I've recently completed. So you've used it as a stepping stone. Yeah a really good stepping stone and defining something that I want to do and a career path that I feel confident about and happy to pursue. Brilliant. Well listen you know a great example of a success story and we're just to remind people that you're located out the Polestar roundabout just in behind Rossview interiors but everybody wants to get in touch I'm sure online. Yeah you can find there's a there's a phone number there that's 0749168288 and an email address letterkenny at nln.ie and you could find all those contact details by just typing in like national learning network letterkenny and to Google you'll find all those contact details there and yeah and the courses are running there and if anybody's interested that has experienced a setback or anything just to get in touch and see what we take it man they're not be able to offer you. Okay we feel and Rose Callagher thank you both very much for having a chat with us. Thanks very much John. Brian McCormick sports and leisure your football specialist multi-bidiscounts on footballs from MIT.