Thousands of college places for jobless

A thousand free postgraduate college places for unemployed workers are to be announced in the next fortnight in addition to the 1,500 free part-time undergraduate college places which will be made available for unemployed workers.

The Department of Education said the undergraduate certificate and degree-level programmes in sciences, business, engineering and technology sectors will be in 13 institutes of technology, four universities and the National College of Ireland from September.

Una Halligan, Director of Government Affairs at Hewlett Packard, was on the evaluation panel that selected the courses.

"There will be a further 1000 additional places at university and institute level at higher degree and masters in next ten days to two weeks," she told RTÉ's Morning Irelandtoday.

The scheme is part of the Government’s efforts to retrain and upskill workers who were made redundant in the economic downturn.

The expert panel was looking at needs for "the smart economy and the green economy" and gaps such as in advanced areas of electronic engineering, Ms Halligan said.

It is for “people who have been in these areas, who want to reskill or who may have qualifications which are no longer relevant," she added.

Applicants will be asked to confirm they have claimed jobseeker’s payment of at least six months or else provide a copy of form RP50 confirming they are entitled to statutory redundancy from their most recent employment.

The six months is to “cover people leaving school at the moment who are going to college anyway,” Ms Halligan said.

People who receive redundancy notices will be eligible to apply once they get the notice but it will depend on supply and demand, Ms Halligan said.

Tuition fees will be covered and students will be entitled to retain their social welfare payments while on the course. This means that people can go to college, keep their benefits and look for a job at the same time, Ms Hallgian said.