Q: I'D like to be a beekeeper and hopefully make a full living from this. I am at senior level in secondary school and would like to know if there is a formal training for this? I have quite good experience in the practical side.
- Wexford student
First of all, you could do a one-week summer course from July 19th in Gormanston College, Co Meath (cost £100 to include tuition and accommodation). Further details are available from Michael Woulfe, Railway House, Midleton, Co Cork, tel 021-631011. This course is run in association with the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Association (FIBKA). The association considers beekeeping as a sound alternative enterprise especially since Ireland has such a good environment. When you have completed that course and when you have done your Leaving Cert, you could opt to do the NCEA national cert/ diploma in apiculture at Cork Institute of Technology. Entry is mainly by assessment of prior experiential learning (APEL) and the course is run in conjunction with the FIBKA. The main requirements are good practical experience and a good standard of education, e.g. passes in five subjects in Leaving Cert or equivalent. In the case of older applicants, formal educational requirements may not be necessary. You can progress to the national diploma once you have got the FIBKA lecturer's certificate but you would also need one year's practical work in apiculture. The diploma course would equip you to be a trainer in apiculture and to take an administrative role at national and international level. It is also possible to do a PhD in the University of Manchester. Further information is available on this career from Professor Brendan Coughlan, Chemistry Dept, NUI Galway, who is the education officer for the FIBKA and on the course from Dr John O'Mullane at the Cork Institute of Technology tel 021-326214
Q: DO you know of any Irish language courses suitable for adults? I have some Irish from my schooldays but I would like to brush up on it. I would really like to do something else as well as the language.
- Dublin reader
THERE are quite a few courses available for adults who want to improve their Irish and at the same time get involved in activities as diverse as hill walking, dancing, painting, archaeology, pottery, flute or bodhran playing, landscape and culture. Because of combining language learning with cultural activities, participants are able to mix with local native Irish speakers and they are not just classroom based. Oidhreacht Chorcha Dhuibhne in Baile an Fheirtearaigh in Kerry (tel 066-9156100) has straight conversation courses for adults who wish to improve their Irish and also language classes combined with fieldtrips and workshops exploring the folklore, literature, flora, archaeology, music and dance of the area. Courses cost £110 a week and accommodation is extra. Oideas Gael in Gleann Cholm Cille in Donegal (073-30248) has an even greater choice available combining language, landscape and culture, Celtic pottery and marine painting, hill walking, archaeology, Donegal dances, flute and bodhran playing. Weekly language courses cost £110, language and culture £120 and the other activity courses vary between £70 and £90.
Oidhreacht Oileain in Inis Oirr, Oileain Arann (09975111) offers a beginners' course in conversational Irish including modules dealing with all aspects of life, past and present, on this all-Irish speaking island. The course fee is £90. Aras Mhairtin Ui Chadhain, the NUIGalway Irish language centre located in An Cheathru Rua in Co Galway 091-595101 provides programmes which include workshops on Irish traditional dancing and singing and visits to local places of interest. The courses cost £150 for one week or £250 for two weeks. Again accommodation is payable in addition to course fees. Most of these courses run from April through to September with some weekend courses available. Further information from Bord na Gaeilge at 016763222.
Q:Where can I train to become a court stenographer? How much is the fee? What entry requirements do I need? Do they get good pay?
- Kildare student
The only college that I know which provides a stenography course is the Bray Senior College, Novara Avenue, Bray, Co Wicklow tel 01-2866233. It is a two-year full-time course which is eligible for the NCVA Level 2 award after the first year and having done the International Registered Professional Reporters exam at the end of the second year, you can become a member of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA). School-leavers need a higher C or better in English and an ordinary C or better in maths in Leaving Cert. These requirements do not apply for mature students.
The aim of the course is to equip students with stenography skills which will facilitate the production of verbatim transcripts to international standards and to provide them with extensive practical experience in the use of computer-aided transcription. Students also gain an understanding of basic legal as well as court procedures. There is a work experience programme built into the course. The college operates a rental purchase scheme spread over two years so that students can buy the stenograph machine for writing shorthand which is operated by keyboard.
Up to 20 students are admitted to the course each year and there has been a record of full employment to date with jobs available in the law courts, the Dail, the BBC where they provide subtitles for TV, convention or tribunal reporting, executive, legal and medical secretaries. Many stenographers are self-employed and work for agencies on a freelance basis. Income ranges from £10,000 to £30,000 per year depending on experience.
There are no fees for any PLC course but there is a non-refundable booking fee of £30. All students pay a £50 resource fee as well but this does not include the cost of exams, registration with professional bodies, photocopying or field trips.
Queries can be answered only through this column and not by phone or post. Write to Sile Sheehy, Education & Living, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 - or by email to education@irish-times.ie
