West Limerick Resources - "Committed to the Community"

A Career in Tourism

Glin Development Association has welcomed the approval by FAS to establish a Tourism orientated Local Training Initiative (LTI) in Glin and is urging those interested to register their interest immediately. Offering participants a full FETAC Level 5 Certificate in Tourism, the thirty week course will commence on June 20^th and is designed to provide participants with the qualifications to work in the tourism industry along with looking at higher education opportunities and enterprise development potential. 

Established in the 1960's, Glin Development Association has long been involved in Heritage and History in the tourism rich estuary area of West Limerick and has worked with the Local Development Company, West Limerick Resources (WLR) to develop this course.  Funding was approved by FAS at the end of April to establish the programme which will be offered free of charge to all participants.  In addition a full FAS training allowance is available to those in receipt of a Social Welfare payment.  It should also be noted however that if a person's social welfare allowance is lower than the standard allowance, FAS will pay the full standard allowance for the duration of the course. 

Each applicant will be looked at individually in order to make them fully aware of their allowances before their commitment to the course. Those in receipt of a part time or reduced Social Welfare payment may be increased to the full training allowance on starting the course as will participants in the 18-20 year old age bracket who are currently receiving an allowance of €100 per week. People in receipt of a disability or illness benefit may also apply but will be asked for a letter of Exemption from their relevant social welfare office before starting the course.  In addition, if a participant's social welfare entitlement exceeds the standard training allowance, a training allowance equivalent to their existing entitlement will be paid on receipt of certified evidence, namely a completed "Participant Allowance Entitlement" form.  Payment of the training allowance is attendance based and some participants may also benefit from a €20 bonus per week, which will be examined on an individual basis along with a weekly travel and meals allowance. 

The course will offer nine modules including Tourism Awareness, Customer Service, Communications, Work Experience, Word Processing, Heritage, Profile of Rural Tourism, Safety & Health at Work and Computer Applications. All must be completed in order to achieve certification. Those interested in taking part must also meet specific eligibility criteria which are set out by FAS.  Targeting those who have not completed a Leaving Certificate or who did not complete it successfully, the priority group for the course is those aged between 16-35 years.  However there are some places available for those outside of this age bracket.

Those interested in taking part are urged to register their interest with their local FAS office immediately clearly stating their interest in this course as it is due to start June 20^th. Alternatively contact Dearbhla at the West Limerick Resources office in Abbeyfeale on 068 32444.  

Posted on 20/05/2011 by Suzanne Rowley, Information Officer