Springboard Courses

The springboard+ upskilling initiative in higher education offers free courses at certificate, degree and masters level leading to qualifications in areas where there are employment opportunities in the economy. Springboard+ is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Social Fund as part of the ESF programme for employability, inclusion and learning 2014-2020.

Download Springboard+ Prospectus 2019/2020 »

  • Springboard+ 2019
  • Who is Eligible?
  • How to Apply
  • RPL

What is Springboard+?

Springboard+ offers opportunities for FREE one-year higher education programmes. While many Springboard courses are targeted to Jobseekers, from 2019 all of the FREE courses are also open to those in employment and Returners. 

What courses are available under Springboard+ in 2019?

The following courses are available under Springboard+ in the 2019-2020 academic year, commencing in early 2020:

Who is Eligible?

The eligible applicants for Springboard+ 2019 are as follows:

1. Those in receipt of an eligible payment from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) and the formerly self-employed;

2. People not in receipt of a payment from the Department of Social Protection that have been out of the work environment for a number of years due to childcare or other caring obligations and have a previous history of employment but may require upskilling, reskilling or cross-skilling to transition back to the workforce (“Returners”)

3. People in employment seeking to reskill or upskill.

Course Fees

For employed participants on courses of NFQ Level 7, 8 or 9, 90% of the course fee is paid by the HEA. Participants will be liable for the remaining 10% fee. Fees will be due once a place has been accepted. Level 6 courses are FREE to all participants.

Further information on eligibility is available at www.springboardcourses.ie/eligibility

How to Apply

To apply for a Springboard+ course applicants must use the centralised application system via www.springboardcourses.ie. Applications for September 2019 are currently open.

Several FREE Springboard+ courses are also available at our Wicklow County Campus and our Wexford Campus. Each campus has their own application. Please ensure you complete the correct application for the Campus that best suits your needs. http://springboardcourses.ie/howToApply

RPL

In order to encourage and enable people to enter or re-enter formal education Institute of Technology Carlow welcomes applications from candidates who wish to enhance their academic eligibility for a place on a course by using the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) mechanism.
 
RPL is the term used to describe the system whereby prospective students can apply for formal recognition to a range of relevant learning that you may have gained prior to entry onto a particular course.  
 
RPL includes:
 
- Recognition of Prior Accredited Learning: This refers to the recognition of formal learning which is linked to the National Framework of Qualifications and for which certification has been awarded; it might include a course or part of a course that has been completed previously.
 
- Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning: This refers to the recognition of the kind of learning that has been gained through work or life experiences. It could also include learning gained through workplace training courses.
 
- Candidates will be asked to set out, formally and in detail using the Institute of Technology Carlow Springboard RPL Form, any previous certified or experiential learning previous that they wish to have considered in the process of alloc
ating places on a course.
 
In order to make an RPL application for a place on a Institute of Technology Carlow Springboard 2019 course please first contact the Springboard Co-ordinator, at Springboard@itcarlow.ie with a brief outline of:
  • What course you are interested in;
  • What your current formal qualifications are;
  • What relevant experience you have.

Once this summary information has been received you will be informed on how best to proceed.

It is important to note that Institute of Technology Carlow anticipates very significant demand for the Springboard 2018 courses.
 
In order to succeed in enhancing their eligibility through RPL candidates will need to engage fully and completely with the RPL requirements set out in the Springboard RPL form.
 
All modules taken on Springboard courses will typically contribute to the award classification and so module exemptions are generally not permitted.

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