Institute of Technology Carlow

JP McArdle - BUSINESS & PURCHASING

I initially chose the National Certificate in Business Studies because I wanted to get a good business grounding before specialising. The certificate gave me a wide range of choices that I could follow-up and specialise in.

What I liked about the course
As with most of the courses at the Institute you get a chance to obtain a qualification at all levels. It's a very practical way of progressing.
It means you don't have to put all your eggs in one basket if you're unsure what you'd really like to qualify in. After the Certificate I decided to specialise in the Diploma in Purchasing Management and then followed it up with the Degree in Industrial Purchasing. The Diploma and Degree covered different areas of Purchasing so altogether it gave me a really good insight into the industry.

So where am I now?
I got the taste for Student Union work over 3 years ago and haven't looked back since. I worked part time initially as an officer and last year was elected to SU President full-time. This is where my business qualifications really came in handy. A s SU President I'm Manager, Chief Executive Officer and Financial Controller all in one. I had to be able to juggle lots of people, organisations, politicians, the media and budgets all at the same time. My studies really helped me do this.

I've just been elected Southern Area Officer of the Union of Students in Ireland (U.S.I.) and am now tasked with representing the 8 southern colleges and universities, like IT Carlow, UCC, LSAD, Waterford and Limerick Institutes of Technology.