Fast Track into Information Technology (FIT Ltd.) is a
registered charity funded by the ICT industry and government. Its
objective is the progression of people within disadvantaged
communities and their integration into mainstream society through
access to training in ICT. Its methodology is building
collaborations between industry, government (agencies) and local
communities. FIT instigates initiatives to support disadvantaged
people address basic skills needs and the digital divide; develops
curricula, assessment selection procedures, and training
initiatives. It makes agreements with national training and
education providers and local development organisations to run FIT
courses.
FIT has a Board made up of senior figures from the ICT industry
(e.g., AOL, Dell, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, etc). and a
Curriculum Subgroup made up of industry experts and vocational
training experts which research, review and approve new curricula.
FIT has expert personnel with wide ranging experience in
transnational project management, the development of innovative
training programmes, socio-economic factors contributing to
disadvantage and the creation of ICT based tools and web based
resources.
The City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee is the
local education authority for Dublin City and its inner suburbs. It
provides a wide range of opportunities for the the younger
generation of Dubliners, and its life-long education programme
offers to adults in all age groups career improvement, leisure and
self development courses. A feature of the CDVEC`s vibrancy in
catering for all levels has been the promptness with which it has
met the changing needs of Business and Industry on one hand and
geared itself to changing social conditions on the other. City of
Dublin VEC is the largest VEC in the country with 11,826 full-time
students. Almost 8,000 are pursuing vocational Post Leaving
Certificate courses. There are 1,400 full-time teaching,
administrative and maintenance staff in a total of 3,800 people
employed by CDVEC. The operation of this scheme requires extensive
support services, which include Education, Human Resources,
Finance, Management Services, Psychological and Guidance Services
and a Buildings Maintenance Section.
FOR.COM Consortium is a multimedia University developing and
delivering distance university courses (ODL - Open Distance
Learning ), utilising computer networking solutions and tools as
distribution channels and collective production facilities, in the
framework of collaborative learning and teaching processes. FOR.COM
is a public non profit body promoted by the Ministry of University,
Technological and Scientific Research. FOR.COM Consortium is the
final result of an intense collaboration between Italian and
Foreign universities. FOR.COM is also recognised formally as part
of public university laboratories (M.I.U.R code 80 – Research and
computer science, multimedia and new technology didactic
applications).
South West College is a College of Further and Higher
Education, based at four main campuses, Cookstown, Dungannon,
Enniskillen and Omagh, in Northern Ireland. It is the largest
provider of education and training in the South West and employs
1,000 staff and provides education for 2,500 full time students and
25,000 part time students and has an annual operating budget of
circa £30 million. The South West region is largely rural and is in
a socio-economically disadvantaged area with four of the six most
deprived Council areas in Northern Ireland.
In addition, the College provides business support, community
and lifelong learning programmes to latent and established
businesses in the wider community.
To expand on the existing capacity, South West College has newly
established an InnoTech Centre which has been developed to expand
the international reach of the College and provide additional
industry linked R&D services, innovation support and bespoke
training.
